Vancouver City Council extends nonprofit's contract to oversee Safe Park

Live Love Outreach will continue to oversee the city of Vancouver's Safe Park site for people living in cars and RVs.

On June 15, the Vancouver City Council approved a $984,644 increase to the nonprofit's contract, bringing the total to about $1.9 million through June 2027.

Live Love Outreach took over operation of the Safe Park site in June 2025. The Vancouver-based nonprofit also operates one of the city's four Safe Stay shelters.

The city created Safe Park, now known as Homeward Bound, in C-Tran's former Evergreen Transit Center in 2020. With more than 50 parking spaces, the site at 1320 N.E. 138th Ave. serves as a lifeline for many homeless people who cannot find or afford a legal parking spot.

Live Love Outreach leaders said staff has seen "tremendous change" over the past year.

"People are wanting to come into Safe Park because they know that we have effective case management, and they're seeing change happen," said Rori Dicker, the nonprofit's operations manager. "Really good things are happening here."

A safe place

Over the past year, Safe Park has served 192 people, including 35 children. The average age of residents was 43 years old.

Live Love Outreach's leaders said they've strengthened collaborations with other community resources, including Council for the Homeless and Vancouver's Homeless Assistance and Resource Team. They've also begun working with schools to help families living in the park.

Dicker said about 98 percent of Safe Park residents are "highly engaged" in case management and are taking steps toward their goals. Dicker said not only are people moving into housing, but they have also worked with staff to take care of their medical needs, access veteran services, obtain proper documentation and address any lingering court cases.

Fifteen people have entered some type of treatment program, Dicker added.

Dicker said the average length of stay has dropped dramatically over the past year, evidence of strong case management and setting people up for stability. Before Live Love Outreach took over, the average length of stay was nearly two years.

Now, the average stay is roughly 91 to 188 days, Dicker said.

Live Love Outreach has recorded 145 exits from the park, of which 91 resulted in housing or other positive outcomes. For example, residents who have been living in the park for several years have moved into housing.

"That's a huge feat to go from living in your RV or car to there," Dicker said.

Staff said some residents were evicted for breaking rules.

"Most of the exits were due to making sure that we're keeping the Safe Park as a safe place in the neighborhood, and it is a place where people are moving forward," Dicker said.

But staff said they've seen examples of these so-called negative exits resulting in positive outcomes because these "moments of desperation" motivated people to correct course, said Brian Norris, the nonprofit's executive director.

"It was heartbreaking for us, because there were sometimes children involved, but then it sets people up to make this change," Norris said.

Norris and Dicker said for the next year they hope to continue the positive trajectory. Dicker said staff is excited to continue deepening relationships with community providers and those experiencing homelessness.

"We are absolutely excited to continue a collaboration with the city and all the other different partners, and just make a big difference in our community," Norris 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.

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This story was originally published June 22, 2026 at 7:16 AM.