(The Center Square) – The Spokane County Regional Stabilization Center is facing a $500,000 funding gap that could force the operator to end 24/7 access for first responders without a short-term bailout.
The Board of County Commissioners plans to vote in the coming weeks on redirecting $500,000 from a mental health sales tax to plug the hole. The officials may also consider redirecting opioid settlement funds from Spokane Treatment and Recovery Services to help expand the regional stabilization center.
Data presented by Pioneer Human Services on Tuesday framed the facility as a critical diversion tool for law enforcement and emergency medical responders to free up space at the jail and local hospitals.
Amelia Weaks, director of network and value-based care, told the commissioners that the stabilization center served 563 people from January through March 2026. About 80% of those individuals reported improvement in well-being and mental health, and 78.9% were also connected with housing services.
“To operate [with] fidelity and best serve the community, it’s really imperative that operations remain open all the time to first responders,” Clint Jordan, the operator’s vice president of clinical and reentry programs, explained Tuesday. “The current instability financially is the biggest threat and risk to that.”
Jordan said the stabilization center incurred about $450,000 in operational losses in 2025 and expects $500,000 in losses for 2026. Operations are supported by a mix of federal, state and local funding, as well as a portion of the local mental health sales tax and opioid settlements from cities in the county.
Pioneer Human Services attributed much of the operational losses to labor shortages and rising costs.
Jordan said other employers offer competitive pay, leading to a labor shortage for the center valued at $267,000 in 2025 and $249,000 for the first three months of 2026 alone. Meanwhile, the stabilization center’s budget has increased more than 32%, from $8.57 million in 2024 to $11.34 million in 2026.
“To be clear, we are here asking for the county’s support in helping close some of the funding gap,” he said, noting that changes in state law could adjust Medicaid reimbursement rates over the long term.
The commissioners could vote on an amendment as soon as next week to redirect $500,000 from the mental health tax to fill the gap at the stabilization center as the county builds a new sobering facility.
The facility, known as the Prevention, Assessment, Treatment and Healing, or PATH, Crisis Relief and Sobering Center, is an expansion of the regional stabilization center. The plan is to transition funding from Spokane Treatment and Recovery Services to the new PATH facility over the next year or so.
“As of now, [STAR] remains at capacity, so we would really need those beds over at the [PATH facility] to reduce the impact, because [if] we shut that down immediately, those individuals have nowhere to go but the [emergency room],” Community Services Director Justin Johnson told the commissioners.
