Think Clark County doesn't struggle with homelessness? Think again.
In the last year, increased economic distress mainly due to the region's hard-hit construction sector contributed to a 9 percent increase in Clark County's homeless count – with up to 1,159 people living on the street, in shelters or in transitional housing, according Vancouver's Council for the Homeless.
Of those, 622 are members of families with children.
Daily calls to the Council for the Homeless have already totaled 14,000 this year, compared to 2008's annual total of 16,000, according to the program's executive director, Craig Lyons.
"We're getting more calls from people who have for the first time lost their jobs … and are really struggling," Lyons said.
Along with employment struggles, some people have become homeless after defaulting on mortgages under staggering medical bills, Lyons said. Those with recent bankruptcies on their credit reports are having a hard time finding housing as well.
Lyons expects his organization to end the year with at least 21,000 calls for help.
Modern-day bread lines
Despite all those ringing phones, the struggles of the region's homeless population remain largely unseen for many Clark County residents and workers.
"There's a lot more out there than [people] see," Lyons said. "Because we give access [to services] by phone, people don't see them and they forget about them."
The council's services include an emergency shelter clearinghouse, direct shelter services in winter, a community voicemail system and community education. The nonprofit also connects homeless people to direct services through other organizations.
One of those organizations is the Battle Ground School District, which this spring expanded its student support services after the number of homeless students spiked from 37 in 2006 to 168 this year. The number of runaway teenagers staying at shelters run by Janus Youth Services has been steady, and in some cases, has also risen (see story on pg. 8).
"A lot of students had dads in construction and now Dad doesn't have any work," said Lydia Sanders, the school district's homeless liaison. "So they're living in dad's construction trailer or with grandma or any place they can."
Multiple families are living in single residences, Sanders said. Others are living in tents during warm months or in garages or motels.
With the district's new homeless student support team Sanders has contacts at 17 schools who solicit donations such as shoes and coats from local businesses, churches and other organizations.
Lyons has touted this model among local city managers and mayors, and said a similar project has sprouted with the Vancouver Police Department's Sunshine Division.
Boosting support
Collaboration with volunteers and other agencies has proved crucial for Lyons during the recession. In recent years the council operated on a $500,000 annual budget. But this year, losses in federal funding and corporate giving have cut the organization's capital by about $25,000.
Individual fundraising has been slow to resume to pre-recession levels, Lyons said, but volunteer activity is up.
"People are giving what they have the capacity to give, which is themselves," Lyons said. "It doesn't change the bottom line of my budget, but it certainly changes perspectives and attitudes."
Ralph Parker has volunteered on the Council's board of directors since 2005. As a site manager for the Vancouver branch of Illinois-based Underwriters Laboratories, Parker uses his experience as an executive and engineer to help the nonprofit widen its reach.
"They really try to provide not just shelter, but solutions to homelessness," Parker said of the Council. "As an engineer I try to look at the root causes of things and not just the symptoms."
Efforts toward those solutions are supported by nearly 1,600 volunteers who put in more than 15,000 hours each year, plus grants and government funds. About 5 percent of the Council's budget comes from corporate sponsors, including Vancouver-based Windermere Real Estate Stellar Group, a provider of funds for motel vouchers for seven years; Tigard, Ore.-based Barrier Corp., a fabricator of custom sleeping mats for shelters; and Vancouver-based Evergreen Eye Care, which provides vision testing and prescriptions.
"This community jumps when there's a need," Lyons said. "We need to show them where the need lies."
Contributing to that effort, the council's 10th annual Hope and Action recognition luncheon will be held at noon on Sept. 25 at the Hilton Vancouver. For more information, visit www.icfth.com, or call 360.993.9561.
