Amy Harris, of Clark County Matters, believes that as long as public camping remains a choice, many individuals will continue to refuse shelter and services
Amy Harris
Clark County Matters
Earlier this year, Clark County Matters sent a letter to city officials outlining seven specific recommendations for placing stronger limits on public camping in Vancouver. One of those — banning camping within 1,000 feet of schools, churches, and community centers — should have been enacted years ago. Another simply brings city policy in line with Clark County’s existing restrictions. You can read our full letter here.
We strongly support more shelters and services — those are essential to ending unsheltered homelessness. But as long as public camping remains a choice, many individuals will continue to refuse shelter and services. For some battling mental illness, the decision may be beyond their capacity. For others caught in addiction, it’s a cycle of dependency and criminal activity that requires intervention.
A few days later, the City Attorney responded. It’s telling how far the city will go to rationalize public camping. Despite clear rulings from both the U.S. Supreme Court and Washington state courts upholding the legality of camping bans, Vancouver continues to hide behind legal theories to justify inaction. You can read the City Attorney’s response here.
Rather than taking real steps to limit public camping, the mayor and city council continue to defend it. Vancouver needs leadership willing to pair compassion with accountability. That means ending the dangerous, inhumane encampments harming both vulnerable people and entire neighborhoods. You can read our latest response here.
Let’s be honest: this legal back-and-forth does nothing to get people off the streets — or to protect the families and businesses suffering the consequences of public camping.
Vancouver doesn’t have to become the next Portland. But that depends on whether our leaders act.
Thank you for staying engaged. Your voice matters — and it’s making a difference.
Also read:
- Opinion: Let’s make Washington state affordable for everyone
Rep. David Stuebe criticizes state lawmakers’ spending increases and calls for tax relief, budget reforms, and restored funding for essential services across Washington. - Opinion: Legislature agrees to increased spending in Supplemental Budget
Washington lawmakers approved an $80.2 billion supplemental budget, banking on an income tax that is uncertain to withstand legal and electoral tests despite increasing spending beyond revenue projections. - Letter: ‘Only Florida has a more regressive tax structure than Washington’
Washington households earning the least pay 13.8% in taxes, while the wealthiest 1% pay only 4.1%, according to Camas resident Anthony Teso’s letter. - Opinion: ‘I-5 Bridge replacement plan does not accomplish the needs of the project’
Transportation architect Kevin Peterson outlines why the current I-5 Bridge proposal falls short on mobility, urban design, and transit, and offers alternative solutions including BRT and urban integration improvements. - Opinion: Two ways to keep right
Doug Dahl explains how Washington drivers must “keep right” differently depending on whether traffic flows in one direction or both, plus the exceptions that apply to two-way turn lanes.
