VANCOUVER, Wash. — A third Safe Stay Community for residents experiencing homelessness in Vancouver opened on Monday.
Residents moved into the site at 415 West 11th Street. It has 20 temporary modular structures that can house up to 40 residents and will be managed by the nonprofit Outsiders Inn.
The Vancouver City Council voted this past August to award a contract for construction of the community.
The city said these temporary communities will improve health, safety and cleanliness for both housed and unhoused community members by relocating those who are living in tents or vehicles. People living in camps in the downtown area are given priority.
Residents will be offered greater access to services, increased stability, and safe, healthy, humane living conditions to help transition out of homelessness. There are restrooms, showers and laundry facilities on-site. Camping is prohibited within 1,000 feet.
Safe Stay communities are part of the city's Homelessness Response Plan, an effort to combat homelessness within Vancouver, while supporting and providing resources to the unhoused population.
The first two communities are in the east and central parts of the city, serving 186 people while helping 48 residents find jobs and placing 73 residents in stable housing, according to city officials.
A fourth community is expected to open before the end of the year at 4611 Main Street on property owned by the Washington State Department of Transportation.
The city council on Nov. 6 passed an emergency declaration to allow the city manager to issue immediate emergency orders that provides the speed and additional tools needed to address homelessness.
