Vancouver City Council OKs additional $200,000 for two shelter programs
The Vancouver City Council on Monday approved an additional $200,000 for two shelter programs that support homeless women and those fleeing domestic violence.
The funding - pulled from the city's Affordable Housing Fund - will extend contracts for Vancouver nonprofit Share's women's shelter and YWCA Clark County's SafeChoice shelter. The Affordable Housing Fund is a voter-approved property tax that will raise $100 million over a decade for housing programs.
Share's contract increased by $50,000, bringing it to $350,000. YWCA's program was approved for an increase of $150,000, bringing the total to $450,000.
In June 2025, the city awarded $300,000 each to Share and YWCA for their programs. But the contracts ended at different times: YWCA's this summer, and Share's toward the end of the year.
City staff wanted to review funding requests at the same time, so the city approved both contracts to now end Dec. 31. To achieve this, city staff temporarily extended both agencies' contracts and respective funding for the rest of the year. City staff said the change will improve accountability and oversight.
The change also impacts the number of residents served through these programs, according to city documents. The contract extensions aim to allow the shelters to serve 63 additional people - 13 at Share and 50 at YWCA.
According to data from Vancouver-based nonprofit Council for the Homeless, women make up 46 percent (579 people) of Clark County's homeless population. Domestic violence survivors make up about 10 percent of the total homeless population, with 129 people, according to the data.
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.
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This story was originally published June 2, 2026 at 5:54 PM.