Vancouver homeless shelter expected to be Clark County’s largest once it opens
Author
Elena Neale-Sacks
Date published
June 16, 2026
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Construction at the 120-bed shelter in the Van Mall neighborhood is nearing completion.
Beeping, humming and drilling are some of the primary sounds emanating from a 3-acre property on Northeast 94th Avenue in Vancouver.
The city is in the home stretch of construction for a new shelter — whose working name is Bridge Shelter — that will accommodate about 120 unhoused adults once it’s complete.
Vancouver declared a homelessness emergency in 2023. Since then, the city has ramped up funding to expand shelter capacity, homeless services and pathways to permanent housing. The Bridge Shelter is a key part of this strategy. Once it opens, it’s expected to be the largest shelter in Clark County. It will not allow children, though recent surveys show families with kids are increasingly experiencing homelessness in the region.
Unlike emergency shelters that require those staying overnight to leave during the day, Bridge Shelter residents will be able to come and go throughout the day, said Vancouver Homeless Response Manager Jamie Spinelli while giving OPB a tour of the site Wednesday.
City officials hope that, in addition to being an indoor place to sleep, the shelter will help people stabilize so they can take the next step toward finding permanent housing.
“ For a lot of folks it’s just, like, identifying ‘what is the next thing that I need to do? What is my goal? What do I need for myself?’” Spinelli said. “ And then they’ll get help with doing those things.”
Portland-based nonprofit Do Good Multnomah will operate the shelter, primarily with city funding. Residents will have access to meals, showers, case management services and housing assessments. The Cowlitz Indian Tribe will offer substance abuse treatment and counseling.
“ The goal is permanent housing for everyone,” Spinelli said. “We want a home for everybody, whatever that looks like for them.”
From left, Vancouver Homeless Response Manager Jamie Spinelli, Tapani Inc. Project Engineer Tyson Gregg, Vancouver Project Manager Kevin Kearns, and Vancouver Communications Director Laura Shepard at the construction site of what will be a 120-bed shelter for people experiencing homelessness, on July 15, 2026.
Elena Neale-Sacks / OPB
The shelter consists of two main buildings. One is a dormitory that will include congregate beds separated by gender, a hallway of single-stall bathrooms and showers and several beds for couples. The second building is more of a common space and multipurpose room that will house a commercial kitchen.
The shelter doesn’t have a firm opening date yet, but officials are aiming for late 2026.
The site could make a big difference in the city’s ability to reduce the number of adults living outside. It’s not a silver bullet, though. While the latest Clark County Point-In-Time count found an 18% decrease in the overall number of people experiencing homelessness, there was a 16% increase among families with children.
Spinelli said not allowing children at Bridge Shelter is a resource capacity issue.
“We do not have enough to spread that around to all the various needs,” she said, “because there are many.”
