Number of homeless in Bellingham continues to rise. Will a permanent shelter get built?

Fearing that people could be turned away this winter, the head of Lighthouse Mission Ministries said his agency is urgently searching for a place to put a permanent emergency shelter for the homeless in Bellingham.

That’s because the number of homeless seeking a place to sleep at the Lighthouse Mission’s temporary emergency shelter in its Drop-In Center, 1013 W. Holly St., has grown, according to Hans Erchinger-Davis, executive director of the Lighthouse Mission.

Erchinger-Davis said there’s been a 20 percent increase in the number of people who stayed at the center this summer compared to last.

That worries him heading into the fall and winter, when more of those who are homeless seek shelter from the cold and rain.

“We’re seeing these higher numbers in months that traditionally don’t require as much shelter space,” Erchinger-Davis said. “My suspicion is we’ll be turning people away.”

The faith-based organization also faces other deadlines, including how much longer the city of Bellingham will allow it to use the Drop-In Center as an emergency shelter.

That deadline is May 2022.

And the owner of a commercial office building near the Drop-In Center has appealed the city’s decision, arguing the shelter wasn’t allowed in an area that was zoned commercial and saying it has hurt his business. A Hearing Examiner is expected to consider that matter in a couple of months.

Lighthouse Mission converted the center into a temporary overnight shelter in October 2016, allowing those who were homeless to stay inside during the day as well.

The organization had been working with the city to try to find a site for a permanent low-barrier, also referred to as easy-access, shelter for 200 homeless men and women for nearly three years when that effort stalled in May.

That was when the city and Whatcom County, which also was involved in the search for a location, couldn’t agree on using the Whatcom County Health Department at 509 Girard St. for the shelter.

It was the latest roadblock in what had been a long look at numerous sites, prompting a frustrated Bellingham Mayor Kelli Linville to say that she didn’t think that finding land for a 200-bed shelter in the city center was feasible.

The city has not given up on looking for a site, said Rick Sepler, Planning and Community Development director for Bellingham.

“We’re always looking. However, we’ve exhausted all of the obvious ones and exhausted most of the secondary sites,” Sepler said. “At this point, it’s on hold.”

Despite the impasse, Erchinger-Davis has said that the organization is continuing on its own on the project — to buy land to build a shelter or to buy a building that could be turned into a shelter. That has always been its priority.

“It’s unfortunate that it continues to take so long. It has been a long search. Our existing temporary facility is not best suited for this purpose,” Erchinger-Davis said.

The Drop-In Center had always been intended as a stop-gap measure, Erchinger-Davis said.

He said the organization is still looking at putting a permanent easy-access shelter in the city center. That location would provide easy access to other social services and be close to where many people who are homeless gather.

Low-barrier shelters have minimum requirements for entry, so people aren’t tested for drug or alcohol use before being allowed in, although they can’t drink or use drugs once inside.

The goal is to get people through the door, give staff a chance to connect with them and build trust so those who are homeless are willing to get services.

As for the number of people that could go into the permanent shelter: “I can say that whatever site we do end up with, the hope is that it can accommodate the number of people we’re seeing, which is 190,” Erchinger-Davis said.

“Anything less is going to put people out on the street,” he said, adding that he also wanted the shelter to have room for more.

He declined to say where the Lighthouse Mission was in its search.

“I can say we are pursuing a few options,” Erchinger-Davis said.

The Drop-In Center can sleep 80 men.

The Lighthouse Mission can provide emergency, overnight shelter to a maximum of 150 men and women between the center, its chapel and its dining hall in Old Town.

In winter, it has worked with Fountain Community Church on Broadway to temporarily shelter another 40 people who need to get out of the cold.

The search continues as homelessness increases in Whatcom County.

Compared to last year, the number of people who are homeless in the county has increased by nearly 10 percent to 815, according to the annual census conducted in January. The Point In Time Count, as it’s known, provides a snapshot, and advocates have said that the actual number of homeless is higher.

Homeless households, defined as being at least one person, also were asked where they slept the previous night as part of the count, according to the 2018 report by the Whatcom County Coalition to End Homelessness.

Results showed that:

• 24 percent slept in transitional housing.
• 27 percent were in emergency shelter.
• 29 percent slept outside.

• 3 percent were in a vehicle.

• 3 percent were in an RV or boat that lacked basic amenities.
• 1 percent slept in an abandoned building.

This story was originally published September 18, 2018 at 5:00 AM.