Vancouver updates homelessness response: site cleanups, Suboxone pilot and motel‑voucher review

Jamie Spinelli, the city’s homeless response manager, updated the Vancouver City Council on Sept. 22 about outreach operations, site cleanups, health partnerships and program challenges tied to the city’s unsheltered homelessness response.

Spinelli said crews removed about 13.29 tons of solid waste from public property in August, and another nearly 10 tons by a separate crew, bringing the year‑to‑date total to nearly 215 tons. She reported the city lost four people in August, bringing the total deaths since December to 23. Police calls related to unsheltered homelessness account for roughly 10% of incident reports and about 16.2% of response hours, she said. Spinelli added that nine people across sites moved into housing in August, four obtained employment and six had job…