(The Center Square) – Spokane announced an expansion of its scattered-site homeless model on Wednesday. A new facility will open downtown next week as the city delays a proposal that could make it harder to site the services.
The city, in partnership with Providence, Empire Health Foundation and Jules Helping Hands, plans to open a “medically-supported respite facility.” It’ll be located downtown at the Westminster United Church of Christ, just minutes from several healthcare providers, but across the street from Lewis and Clark High School.
Jules Helping Hands, which used to operate the once-infamous Camp Hope, will run the facility after signing a contract with EHF, which operates the local navigation center and new model.
“Jewels Helping Hands is committed to filling gaps in our community as we begin to move the needle on homelessness through the scattered site model,” JHH Executive Director Julie Garcia wrote in a news release. “We are looking forward to sharing our vision and the positive impact this will have where healthcare and homelessness intersect.”
Garcia told The Center Square that the Westminster Respite Facility is not a walk-in service. The operator will rely on referrals from the nearby Providence Community Clinic. The intent is to relieve pressure on local emergency rooms by providing recuperative care for the homeless.
According to the release, the facility will serve as an outreach site for the clinic, supported by nurse practitioners, a behavioral health team and volunteers. The city said that despite having 30 beds, it’s not a shelter, nor will it have outdoor areas for congregating.
Many residents and businesses have called for a stop to opening services like shelters and others downtown. The area is the most impacted by homelessness and the fentanyl crisis, with some shops even closing their doors due to the largely treatment-resistant population.
“At Westminster, we say we’re a downtown church with a heart for Spokane,” Kelly Cox, the church’s moderator, wrote in the release. “Being a part of the solution along with these other partners is a mission critical for our church.”
Councilmember Michael Cathcart proposed a measure months ago requiring good neighbor agreements when opening city-funded homeless services. However, the city council’s progressive majority set it aside, noting it could make treating the marginalized group even more difficult.
He wanted to mandate the agreements requiring the city, operator and neighborhood to uphold specific level of standards and communication. While unpopular among the majority, the ordinance proved favorable to residents over a months-long series of roundtable discussions.
Cathcart’s ordinance was one of many proposed by the conservative minority that the council delayed. The majority opted to wait until after the roundtables, which ended last month. The officials will reconvene over the matter in the coming weeks, though it’s unclear to what extent.
“This new site is a testament to what can be achieved through strong partnership and a shared commitment to our community,” Mayor Lisa Brown wrote in the release. “We will now be able to provide streamlined, tailored medical services to meet the unique needs of the individuals we serve.”
Following the roundtable series, Garcia told The Center Square that she opposes opening more services downtown because bad actors prey on homeless individuals. On Wednesday, she said they chose this church due to its proximity to the clinic, nearby hospitals and the inability to walk in.
Some of Garcia’s other facilities have good neighbor agreements, but the city didn’t sign, so they aren’t enforceable. The respite facility also has one, which she said they’ve offered and are waiting on the neighborhood council to sign, but the city isn’t a part of it.
Spokane did have one good neighbor agreement for Trent Shelter, which until recently was Spokane’s largest congregate shelter; however, according to the document, it’s “not legally enforceable in court, nor is it intended to be.”
Jules Helping Hands has a legally binding Memorandum of Understanding with the church and a contract with Empire Health Foundation. However, since the city allocates money to EHF, which essentially controls the contracts and scattered-site model, Spokane isn’t required to sign.
Either way, Garcia is confident that the policies and procedures will limit guests’ access to downtown. She added that they won’t be very mobile either, coming from clinic referrals.
“They absolutely cannot come and go as they wish. These will be very sick folks under medical supervision,” Garcia said. “When all the scatter sites are up and running, which will be a little while before that’s the case, it will be an entire continuum of care that matches people with appropriate solutions to their situations and barriers.”
