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News / Clark County News

Despite concerns, severe weather shelter ready to open in former Vancouver library building

Facility next to Vancouver Innovation, Technology and Arts Elementary will house up to 45 people, giving priority to families, seniors

By Mia Ryder-Marks, Columbian staff reporter
Published: December 13, 2024, 3:21pm
4 Photos
City of Vancouver Homeless Resources Manager Jamie Spinelli talks to a television news crew during a media tour Friday. The city of Vancouver is opening a winter shelter in the building on East Mill Plain Boulevard.
City of Vancouver Homeless Resources Manager Jamie Spinelli talks to a television news crew during a media tour Friday. The city of Vancouver is opening a winter shelter in the building on East Mill Plain Boulevard. (Taylor Balkom/The Columbian) Photo Gallery

On Saturday, two city of Vancouver buildings will open to those seeking overnight refuge from the cold. Officials say the shelters will provide not only warmth but also a path to permanent housing and support.

This is the first time the city has opened its own buildings in this way, said Jamie Spinelli, the city’s homeless response manager. Today, she and other officials invited media to tour of one of the two buildings that will open overnight, the Vancouver Arts Hub, formerly the Vancouver Community Library, at 1007 E. Mill Plain Blvd.

“This is a place that people can come and have a bit of hope that tomorrow will be a better day,” said Ren Autrey, deputy director of Outsiders Inn, the nonprofit that runs overnight winter shelters.

The arts hub will host as many as 45 people every night. A city building at 521 Chkalov Drive will open four nights per week with 15 overnight beds.

How to access shelter

All available beds in the winter shelters will be filled by referral only. The intake and screening process is administered by the Council for the Homeless.

Anyone staying in the shelters must pass a background check that rules out sex offenders and those who recently committed violent crimes. Families and the most vulnerable, including children and the elderly, will be given preference.

Anyone needing shelter is asked to contact the Council for the Homeless Housing Hotline at 360-695-9677.

How to help

Winter overnight shelters need volunteers. Morning and evening shifts are available for two to three hours per shift. Duties can include setup, greeting and check-in, meal support, activities, social support and service animal support. To apply to volunteer at a winter shelter, visit outsidersinn.org/sws.

Donations of items are also welcome. Winter shelter service providers need blankets, new sweatshirts and sweatpants, ground coffee, creamer, sugar, hot cocoa and other to-go food options such as granola bars. A full list of needs has been compiled in an Amazon Wishlist at clbn.us/shelterwishlist.

Donations can be dropped between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. daily at two of the city’s Safe Stay shelters: The Outpost, 11400 N.E. 51st Circle, or 415 West, 415 W. 11th St., both in Vancouver. Do not bring donations to the winter shelters; staff will not be available to accept items.

The city buildings will work in conjunction with four overnight winter shelters hosted at Clark County churches.

The overnight shelters will give priority to families with children, according to a city of Vancouver news release. Then, beds will go to older adults, those with disabilities or health conditions, and those fleeing domestic violence.

Improvements

The motivation to open overnight shelters in city buildings stemmed from the January ice storm that ripped through Clark County. The storm left many without power and residents flooded winter shelters. The winter shelter at River City Church, designed to house up to 15 people overnight, let in about 300 people during the winter storm.

“In January, very clearly we knew and heard that we were not as prepared as we maybe could or should have been,” Spinelli said.

City, county and nonprofit officials have been brainstorming since to prepare for this winter, which is predicted to be colder and wetter than usual.

At least one person experiencing homelessness died from hypothermia last winter, Spinelli said.

“People who are living outdoors are impacted by a variety of things. It is traumatic, it is dangerous,” Spinelli said.

The average homeless person’s lifespan is 17 years shorter than someone who has a home, according to the National Institutes of Health.

Families

The winter shelter at the Vancouver Arts Hub is next door to Vancouver Innovation, Technology and Arts Elementary. This morning, raincoat-clad children darted around the school playground as media toured the new winter shelter.

Although many of the school’s parents voiced concerns, several have changed their minds after a meeting with city officials and created welcome signs they plan to display when the shelter opens, city officials said. Spinelli said that some VITA students made signs of encouragement to hang around the shelter.

Better day

Staff will connect those who stay at the shelter with community resources to help them get ready for the next steps in their housing journey, said Autrey of Outsiders Inn.

“When you have a night with no rest, it impacts you during the day. Then all the problems and challenges become greater, and they compound,” Autrey said. “This is a space where they can come back, be welcomed and have their basic needs met.”

Spinelli said the city will continue to work to bring people indoors. A planned 150-bed shelter in the Van Mall neighborhood won’t open until 2026, but for now, Spinelli said she and others will continue working on interim measures.

“We also need a safe place for people to be in the meantime,” Spinelli said. “We want people to stay alive long enough to get to the housing that is coming.”

Community Funded Journalism logo

This story was made possible by Community Funded Journalism, a project from The Columbian and the Local Media Foundation. Top donors include the Ed and Dollie Lynch Fund, Patricia, David and Jacob Nierenberg, Connie and Lee Kearney, Steve and Jan Oliva, The Cowlitz Tribal Foundation and the Mason E. Nolan Charitable Fund. The Columbian controls all content. For more information, visit columbian.com/cfj.

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