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YWCA and SHARE urge council to reopen affordable-housing shelter funding as city advances bridge shelter plans
Summary
Local providers told the Vancouver City Council that withholding affordable housing fund shelter dollars for the city's bridge shelter threatens existing domestic-violence and women’s shelters; city officials said they are working to free the funds as outside financing is finalized and provided a monthly homelessness operations update.
Representatives from two local shelter providers urged the Vancouver City Council on Monday to restore a competitive application process for this year’s affordable housing fund shelter dollars, saying withholding the funds for the city’s planned bridge shelter puts existing lifesaving programs at risk.
Britney Lassane, speaking on behalf of YWCA County, told councilors the city removed the ability for nonprofits to apply and instead “chosen to hold back these funds for its own project without going through the same process required of nonprofit providers.” She said the affordable housing fund supplies about 40% of the budget for Safe Choice, the only domestic-violence shelter serving Vancouver, Clark County and the broader Southwest Washington region, and warned that losing that portion of the budget could force service reductions or closure.
“This is about ensuring our entire community continues to have safe, accessible shelter options,” Lassane said.
Amy Reynolds, executive director of SHARE, echoed the plea and asked the council to reopen the application process and consider expanding total net shelter capacity. “We support the city in wanting to create more shelter in this community. We absolutely agree that we need it. We just also need the shelters that are currently providing that service,” Reynolds said.
Why it matters: Council action on the affordable housing fund matters to nonprofit operators who rely on those competitive dollars to keep existing shelters open. City staff and councilors said the bridge shelter must be additive to, not subtractive from, the county’s shelter ecosystem, and they described ongoing work to resolve financing so partner providers are not left unable to plan their fiscal year.
City Manager Lawn told council that the funds were sequestered during last year’s budget process while staff pursued outside funding to make a viable bridge shelter project. He said conditions have changed: Clark County is now more active as a partner, the council approved a business-and-occupation (B&O) tax to support housing, and other partners have advanced support for components such as a commercial kitchen. Lawn said his “top priority” is to free those affordable housing property-tax dollars back into the housing ecosystem as outside funds are secured.
“I want to be able, as we're able, to free those affordable housing property tax dollars back up, ideally before the end of the month,” Lawn said, calling it his goal but not guaranteeing the full amount would be available.
Jamie Benelli, city staff leading the homelessness situation report, provided operational context and service data. Benelli said winter-shelter operations served multiple sites in February: one winter site served 39 people (29 adults and 10 children) and the Arts Hub served 76 individuals (56 adults, 17 children and three unknown ages). She reported that winter shelters have helped transfer people into longer-term shelter and housing, and that March will be the last month of winter-shelter operations.
Benelli also summarized outcomes tied to the city’s “sound wall” outreach list and related relocations: 25 people were referred into shelter, 21 remain in shelter, and several residents moved into permanent supportive housing or other longer-term placements. She highlighted operational challenges and innovations — for example, pets are increasingly present among people entering shelter and the Humane Society and retail partners are helping with supplies and training to improve housing outcomes.
On county funding, Benelli said Clark County voted to approve mental-health sales tax and opioid-settlement dollars for the bridge shelter but county staff are still working through allowable uses and agreement mechanisms. Benelli said staff will form an operational steering committee later this year and intends to include community partners in operational planning and policy discussions.
Council response: Council members repeatedly expressed concern that redirecting competitive shelter dollars to a city-run project without a transparent application process would harm specialized providers (domestic-violence shelters, women’s programs) that serve populations the bridge shelter would not. Councilor Perez and others asked staff for a clear list of projects funded last year and for prioritized use of any partial amounts that can be released.
Where things stand: No formal council vote was recorded on reallocating the affordable housing fund during the meeting. City staff said they will meet with housing, homelessness and budget staff to assess financing and attempt to restore funds to nonprofit partners as outside resources are secured.
Ending: Councilors and city staff agreed to continue the finance and operations conversations and to involve providers in operational planning for the bridge shelter once the city moves from concept development into design and operations work. Providers asked the council to reopen the competitive process for shelter funding or, at minimum, to make any reallocation timeline and conditions explicit so nonprofits can plan.
