Winter and severe weather shelters

Two winter shelters will be open nightly beginning Dec. 14 and are expected to remain open through March 2025.

The winter shelters will serve individuals and households experiencing homelessness. All shelters are co-ed; as part of the referral process, those with records of sex offenses and recent violent criminal behavior cannot use the shelter.

To access these and other emergency shelters, please call the Council for the Homeless Housing Hotline at 360-695-9677. People must undergo a referral process and background check to access the emergency shelter.

Two winter shelters (Vancouver Arts Hub and Chkalov Building) will be open from 6:30 p.m. to 7 a.m.

The shelters aren’t open during the day to enable the regular programming of these spaces to continue and for any necessary reset and maintenance of the facility for the next night. Anyone who needs a warm place to go during the day can take advantage of the different warming centers offered by the City and other partners. Bus passes will be provided to participants who need them to get to wherever they need to go during the day and back to the shelter area in the evenings. Some of these spaces could remain open during severe weather events.

Different shelters have different pet policies; this is another reason that those seeking shelter must call the Council for the Homeless during the referral process.

The shelters have limited space for belongings. Please review the list of what can and cannot be brought to the shelter.

Yes, staff will provide a warm meal and beverages to people who come to any of the Outsiders Inn-supported winter shelter spaces. Additional trained staff will be able to support access to basic community resource navigation to help connect people to the places they need to engage in wellness and housing-focused services.

Yes, the City considers community centers warming centers during regular hours. While there is no formal programming, Firstenburg and Marshall community centers have public lobbies with access to heat, restrooms, drinking fountains and Wi-Fi.

While our service providers staff the shelters, volunteers are needed too. Morning and evening shifts are available for two to three hours per shift. Shift duties can include set up, greeting/check-in, meal support and set up, coffee/drinks, activities, social support, pet support, and security (awareness of space and authorized areas).  

• Morning Shift – 6 to 8:30 a.m. 

• Evening Shift – 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. 

Apply to volunteer at one of Vancouver’s winter shelters with Outsiders Inn or other community partners like St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, Immanuel Lutheran Church and Beautiful Savior Lutheran. Apply at outsidersinn.org/sws.

Our winter shelter service providers need blankets, new sweatshirts/sweatpants, ground coffee, creamer, sugar, hot cocoa, and other to-go/hand food options like granola bars. A full list of needs has been compiled in an Amazon Wishlist. You can drop donations at one of our Safe Stay Communities. The Outpost, 11400 NE 51^st Cir.  or  415 West located at  415 W. 11^th St. daily between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. Please do not bring donations to the shelters; there will not be staff available to take them.