Vancouver's Bridge Shelter opening and countywide outreach
Vancouver prepares to open the 120-bed congregate Bridge Shelter in November and extends its Homeless Assistance and Response Team into unincorporated Clark County.
Do Good Multnomah’s last day running Vancouver’s 40-bed Kiggins Village Safe Stay shelter was September 30, with Live Love Outreach, which already runs Hope Village and the city’s Safe Park, taking over October 1 under a June City Council decision. Vancouver homeless response manager Jamie Spinelli said Kiggins Village was more expensive to operate than the city’s other Safe Stay sites, that the switch was not driven by Do Good’s performance, and that the city expects to save about $500,000 a year. Do Good’s impact report said it served 114 people at the site from 2023 to 2026, including 51 veterans, with an average stay of 161 days before moving into housing.
The council voted in June to move Do Good Multnomah off Kiggins Village so it could focus on operating the 120-bed Bridge Shelter opening later this year.
Vancouver Homeless Assistance and Resource Team manager Jamie Spinelli, responding to the outlet's question of why the city does not ban camping citywide after adopting a 1,500-foot buffer around the 120-bed Bridge Shelter, said neither the city nor the county system has the enforcement, jail or shelter capacity to resolve unsheltered homelessness through enforcement. She cited a county report that the jail has had no available beds 88% of the time since January 2025 and asked where the 500+ people living outdoors would go. The outlet counted more than 100 tents and tarps within a few blocks of the Share House in downtown Vancouver on Thursday.
The city already bans camping within 1,000 feet of its four Safe Stay communities.
The Vancouver City Council voted unanimously Monday night, after a public comment period, to approve an amendment to Vancouver Municipal Code 8.22 establishing a "Camping and Outside Habitation Impact Area" spanning 1,500 feet around the new 120-bed Bridge Shelter on Northeast 94th Avenue. Homeless Response Manager Jamie Spinelli said the city sets a 1,500-foot buffer for the larger facility versus 1,000 feet at smaller city shelters. The 24-hour shelter, operated by Do Good Multnomah, is set to open this winter.
The council had tentatively set the 1,500-foot boundary on September 14, with camping prohibited beginning November 1, per The Columbian.
Vancouver City Council held the first reading of a camping ban covering 1,500 feet around the 120-bed Bridge Shelter under construction, with the ban slated to take effect November 1. A city spokesperson said the ban gives the Homeless Assistance and Response Team and other agencies the ability to work with people living unsheltered in the area before the shelter opens, which officials expect by the end of the year. A public hearing and second reading are scheduled for September 21.
Vancouver already bans camping within 1,000 feet of its Safe Stay sites.
The Vancouver City Council on Monday accepted a $564,100 grant from the Ed and Dollie Lynch Fund to expand the city's Homeless Assistance and Response Team into unincorporated Clark County, funding up to four limited-term outreach positions covering Hazel Dell, Salmon Creek, Orchards and other areas for one year. Homeless response manager Jamie Spinelli said the expansion prepares for the 120-bed congregate Bridge Shelter opening in November; a staff report said county residents outside Vancouver will be able to access the shelter for four years after it opens.
Clark County has approved funding for a dedicated sheriff's deputy to support Vancouver's homeless response team.