Although Vancouver’s Safe Stay communities are designed to be temporary, the need persists. City officials should continue to fund and support the facilities, lest they exacerbate the region’s homelessness crisis. Starting with The Outpost in the North Image neighborhood, Vancouver has opened four Safe Stay communities since 2021. Each facility has a fenced-off lot with 20 portable, two-person sleeping huts and staff to support residents. The city has spent $9.5 million on the program. “I have a place to go every night, and the staff there are amazing. . . . I just love it there,” one resident recently testified at a Vancouver City Council meeting. But the future of the program warrants scrutiny because the Safe Stay program was designed as a temporary approach to reducing homelessness.

As Columbian reporter Alexis Weisend writes: “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.” By many measures, the program has been successful. According to numbers provided by city officials, 424 people have lived in Safe Stay communities, including 87 current residents. Of those who have left, approximately half have landed in more permanent housing, and half of those are paying rent on their own without continuing subsidies. Meanwhile, concerns expressed by neighbors have not materialized. Each Safe Stay proposal has been greeted with anxiety about an increase in crime, including drug use, in surrounding neighborhoods. But officials say that calls to 911 have decreased by 30 percent to 40 percent in local areas following the opening of Safe Stay communities. The question, however, is the price of that success. The average cost of a Safe Stay hut is $1,956 a month, a price that is more than the average one-bedroom apartment rents for in Vancouver but includes support services and food. And while Vancouver paid approximately $7,000 for each Pallet brand shelter in 2021, the price jumped to $11,792 by 2023.

Meanwhile, the city is facing a budget deficit. As City Councilor Bart Hansen noted, expressing concern about the cost, “We were already $43 million short on our last budget.” That is a legitimate issue. With Vancouver – and other municipalities – facing budget shortages, leaders must be prudent with their expenditures. But they also must weigh the cost of maintaining Safe Stay communities against the cost of closing them. Returning people to the streets would increase the need for social services and law enforcement while diminishing the quality of life for local businesses and residents. It also would delay the transition to secure housing for many people. Meanwhile, the current Safe Stay population of 87 is problematic. With four facilities spread throughout the city, there is room for 160 residents, meaning capacity is a little more than 50 percent.

The issue is not a lack of prospective Safe Stay residents; many people continue to live in unregulated encampments or vehicles throughout the city. Efforts must be intensified to move those unhoused people into Safe Stay communities, where they can be connected with services and experience some stability. While questions remain about the Safe Stay program, it warrants continued support. Thus far, it has been the most effective and efficient response to the area’s homeless problem.