Photo Vancouver’s system of temporary shelters may become a permanent part of the city’s plan to address homelessness. The city launched its Safe Stay program in 2021 with the opening of The Outpost, a fenced-off lot with 20 portable, two-person sleeping huts and staff to support residents. Since then, Vancouver has opened three more of the shelters and spent $9.5 million on the program. Although city staff deem the Safe Stay program to be successful — it places more people in housing than the average shelter — it was intended as a stopgap measure. The sleeping huts, manufactured by a company called Pallet, aren’t durable structures. The city will either need to replace them or build something else. Two of the city’s Safe Stays are already past or close to their original contract end dates. Although Vancouver issued an emergency order to keep the sites operating, residents are concerned about the future of the program, said Adam Kravitz, executive director of Outsiders Inn. The nonprofit operates two Safe Stays, The Outpost in the North Image neighborhood and 415 West in downtown.

“People are very scared,” Kravitz said. ‘I would have failed’ Vancouver’s Safe Stay residents and staff converged on the Feb. 24 city council meeting to advocate for the program’s continuation. Amber Rodriguez, 51, was among those who spoke. The Columbian had last spoken with her a year ago when she was addicted to fentanyl and living in a downtown homeless camp. At that point, her addiction had caused her to lose everything, including her children. As Rodriguez approached the microphone to address the city council, she appeared healthier. Her freckled skin, once red from unrelenting exposure to the sun, was less weathered. She moved into 415 West in June. “I have a place to go every night, and the staff there are amazing. … I just love it there,” she said.

After experiencing dozens of overdoses on the street, living in the Safe Stay gave her the strength and stability to become sober, she said. Staff members who have had similar experiences supported her through addiction recovery and helped her make appointments to improve her mental health. “I want to show my kids that drugs are not the way to go,” Rodriguez said through tears. Although some have argued the city’s money would be better spent on housing rather than Safe Stays, Rodriguez said her recent achievements, including becoming sober, likely wouldn’t have happened if she moved directly from the streets into housing. “I probably would have failed,” she said. “I would have rather gone here so I can get back into everyday life and back into my routine.”

Safe Stay model Before the Safe Stay program, Clark County had fewer than 100 year-round beds for homeless adults, fewer than 15 beds for single women, and no options for couples without children, according to the city. When the pandemic hit, homelessness spiked. The number of homeless people in Clark County grew by about a third between 2020 and 2022. As cities across the United States grappled with rising homelessness, they began experimenting with a new model of shelter to reduce the spread of COVID-19. This noncongregate approach offered people privacy, as well as the ability to keep pets and room with a partner. During this time, the Everett-based company Pallet took off as demand for temporary, easy-to-assemble huts grew across the country.

Amber Rodriguez, a resident at the 415 West Safe Stay community, walks through the downtown Vancouver facility. (Amanda Cowan/The Columbian) Photo The city of Vancouver purchased 20 of these units in 2021 for its first Safe Stay at 11400 N.E. 51st Circle, which also offers sanitation services, portable toilets, handwashing stations, meeting spaces and a communal kitchen. Over the following three years, three more Safe Stays followed. Although neighbors and nearby businesses were concerned Safe Stays would attract crime and drive away customers, many say their fears haven’t come to fruition. Calls to 911 actually went down by 30 percent to 40 percent across Safe Stay sites, compared with rates in those locations before the shelters opened, according to the city. The program “is effectively reducing the need for emergency services,” Jamie Spinelli, the city’s homeless response manager, said at a recent city council meeting. Cost and results The ongoing cost of the average hut in a Safe Stay is $1,956 a month, which is more than the average cost of a one-bedroom apartment’s rent in Vancouver. But that figure includes supportive services and food.

Photo Although the program’s cost has drawn criticism, staff say the results speak for themselves. So far, 424 people have lived in Safe Stay communities, including 87 current residents, according to the city. Out of the people who have left the Safe Stays, half of them (or 168) have landed housing. That’s 17.6 percent higher than the national average in 2023, according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. That higher success rate is due to the program’s emphasis on imparting the skills needed to stay housed, as well as connecting residents with addiction treatment, employment services and mental health counseling, Safe Stay staff say. “To take somebody from chronic homelessness to an apartment of any style is very difficult without wraparound care,” said Brian Norris, executive director of Live Love Outreach, the nonprofit operating the city’s second Safe Stay, Hope Village at 4915 E. Fourth Plain Blvd.

More than half of those who transitioned from Safe Stays to housing are paying rent on their own without receiving ongoing subsidies, according to the city. Many of those who successfully exited the Safe Stays became employees of the program. At least 20 former and current residents are working in Safe Stays or other homeless services, according to the city. “That would have never occurred without these sites,” Spinelli told the city council. Temporary shelter On March 3, Spinelli presented the conundrum of Safe Stays’ temporary permits, which only last three years, to city councilors. “For the last year, (Safe Stay) residents have asked, ‘Are we going to have to shut down within a year?’ ” she said.

The 415 West Safe Stay community is pictured in downtown Vancouver. (Amanda Cowan/The Columbian) Photo Councilors generally seemed supportive of making the program permanent. But they also indicated they may consider making the structures housing people more permanent, too. Pallet shelters are designed to be temporary, which is why so many cities use them as an emergency solution. “I support the program being a long-term program. … I’m not supportive of the form being the tiny temporary housing,” Vancouver City Councilor Sarah Fox said at a recent meeting. “An investment in these buildings … might not last very long.” Fox suggested a brick-and-mortar structure but wasn’t sure what it should look like. Most councilors agreed that a permanent Safe Stay program shouldn’t have temporary shelters. Councilor Bart Hansen, however, said he’s less supportive of permanent facilities because they could be expensive.

“We were already $43 million short on our last budget,” he said. The cost of more permanent shelter was part of the reason the city chose Pallet brand shelters, Spinelli said. Another issue is that the city doesn’t own the land at two of the Safe Stay sites. The city’s budget woes have put plans for a fifth Safe Stay on hold, Spinelli said. Replace or build? Although a Pallet representative said all of its products are meant to last 20 years, some cities haven’t had such luck.

In Eugene, Ore., the nonprofit SquareOne Villages decided to retire its Pallet brand shelters after just two years, said Amanda Dellinger, the nonprofit’s community relations director. Instead, SquareOne Villages opted for building tiny homes that cost about $15,000 each and should last as long as a normal house, Dellinger said. Although Vancouver paid a little over $7,000 each for its Pallet brand shelters in 2021, the price for newer models jumped to $11,792 in 2023. However, operators of Vancouver’s oldest Safe Stay say the Pallet shelters are still holding up fine three years later.

Amber Rodriguez stands on welcome mats outside her unit at 415 West. (Amanda Cowan/The Columbian) Photo “I hear their ‘what ifs,’ but the units that we’ve been using have held the test of time so far,” said Ren Autrey, deputy director of Outsiders Inn. No matter what the city decides to do, Kravitz hopes the layout of Safe Stays will stay the same. The huts arranged around a community space not only provide privacy but are reminiscent of the encampments people had lived in previously, making the transition easier, he said. “These spaced-out individual units really serve a population that has been traumatized in a way that can’t be matched in a brick-and-mortar,” Kravitz said. The city has not scheduled a follow-up discussion about the future of Safe Stays. However, if the city wishes to update its city code to not require temporary use permits for Safe Stays, it’ll need to do so by June 30.

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.