SPOKANE, Wash. – The mayor’s office is taking action on initiatives to address Spokane’s homelessness crisis.
This includes a shift towards a scattered shelter model for the homeless and moving services off the Division Street corridor. Specifically, taking the Compassionate Addiction Treatment (CAT) Center away from the corridor.
The treatment center has been on Division for around a year and a half. They provide holistic care and recovery services for those experiencing homelessness.
According to the city, CAT maintains 16 sobering beds as well as services for up to 45 behavioral health patients. The center will move to a facility at 1819 E Springfield Ave., but their planned move to East Central Spokane brings both anticipation and worry.
“We have some concern about how service delivery will be provided to the people in need, but at the same time we need to provide a supportive healing space for the people in our programs and our team,” said Hallie Burchinal, the executive director of Compassionate Addiction Treatment Center.
Burchinal said she is grateful for the opportunity to move to a space that will help them increase the impact they have.
As far as the plans to move away from congregate shelters to a scattered shelter model, the City of Spokane said a Housing Navigation Center that is expected to be up and running by October.
The city described this center as an entry-point shelter for ‘high needs’ adults experiencing homelessness. Resources like addressing health needs and housing-focused support services will be available. The navigation center will refer people experiencing homelessness to longer term placement options like transitional housing or scattered-site shelters.
The city said it’s still on track to close the TRAC shelter this fall.
Increasing affordable housing has also been on Mayor Brown’s to-do list. The city plans to give $9 million, generated from House Bill 1590 to nine agencies to build or fix 110 affordable housing units.
For the mayor’s full statement on steps the city is taking to address housing and homelessness, click here.
COPYRIGHT 2024 BY KXLY. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. THIS MATERIAL MAY NOT BE PUBLISHED, BROADCAST, REWRITTEN OR REDISTRIBUTED.
