On Tuesday morning, adults and children trickled out the doors of the city of Vancouver’s winter shelters for the last time this season. The city’s quick action to set up nighttime shelters in city buildings gave 210 people warmth at some point throughout the coldest time of the year while connecting them to resources. But most participants have returned to sleeping outside now that the shelters have closed. It’s unclear whether the shelters will return in winter. “The city did a great job of thinking outside the box and utilizing these places,” said Adam Kravitz, executive director of the nonprofit operating the city’s shelters, Outsiders Inn. “This was our test run. … I think we should do more of it.” A quick solution Churches in Vancouver have historically been the places opening their doors for homeless people desperate to escape the elements. But last year, it wasn’t enough.

Clark County’s shelter system was largely unprepared for the level of need in January 2024, when an ice storm hit. Faith leaders called The Columbian, shocked and overwhelmed by the number of people practically falling through their church doors. River City Church, which technically has capacity for 15 people overnight, let in about 300 people during the winter storm. Many arrived with frostbite. Then, last April, a flood rendered one church that typically hosts a shelter unusable. Winter shelter organizers pleaded for another organization to take its place. The city identified two buildings it owned that could be converted into nighttime shelter: 521 Chkalov Drive with space for 15 people, and the Vancouver Arts Hub at 1007 E. Mill Plain Blvd., with capacity for 45 people.

Parents of an elementary school, Vancouver Innovation, Technology and Arts Elementary, next door to the Arts Hub weren’t happy with the idea. But when the shelter opened, fears of drug use and crime on campus did not come to fruition. The shelter was chock-full of families with young children. “At one point, it was almost equal adults to kids,” Kravitz said. “But we were able to do arts and crafts, yoga, exercise, birthday parties, bedtime stories.” Parents, including some of the same ones who initially complained, came together to collect snacks, toiletries, clothes, diapers and toys for the shelter.

“It was amazing, and we won’t forget it,” Kravitz said. Back to lacking Outsiders Inn Deputy Director Ren Autrey said the shelters served a total of 210 people, including 29 children, from mid-December to the end of March. Eleven people either moved into a nonseasonal shelter or found another living situation, according to Outsiders Inn. The nonprofit connected every participant to a housing assessment, which helps identify barriers to housing and ways to overcome them. “It’s really important for us to do our best to see what next steps are,” Autrey said.

Both shelters were at capacity the entire time they were open. “There’s just not enough shelter beds,” Autrey said. “I think our city is doing a really good job of trying to have a compassionate response to the harshest seasons of our year.” If the shelters were full and most people leaving don’t have a place to go, why not keep the shelters open year round? Tim Becker, a spokesman for the city, said the locations can’t stay open all year because of a lack of funding and the fact that both buildings are due for renovations. Although the city doesn’t yet have a final figure showing the winter shelter program’s cost, invoices as of Wednesday totaled $268,700.

Still, Kravitz hopes the city will bring back its shelter program next winter and even tap more buildings. “If we continue to think like this and share space that is relatively low cost and saves lives, then it economically might be worth it,” he said.

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.