SPOKANE, Wash. — The City of Spokane has a new tool to keep track of how many people are in the city’s shelter system.
The new data dashboard can be accessed by anyone online and keeps an accurate count of how many people are living in Spokane’s emergency shelters.
“This is something that the community has been asking for for a very long time,” said Arielle Anderson, Director of Community, Housing and Human Services (CHHS).
The dashboard was launched by City of Spokane, City of Spokane Valley, Spokane County and the Spokane Regional Health District. Their hope is it will help identify specific ways to fight the homelessness crisis.
The city also plans to collect additional data through the upcoming Point-in-Time Count.
“We go out and we count the number of folks that are both unsheltered and then also in our emergency shelter system,” said Anderson.
Knowing the number of unsheltered individuals in our community helps the city apply for a receive the funding it needs to fight the homelessness crisis. It can also help save lives.
“If somebody asks you, ‘Hey do you know where any beds are available,’ you can easily look that up for them and, in that moment in time, perhaps share something that may keep somebody alive today,” said Julie Garcia, Executive Director of local nonprofit, Jewels Helping Hands.
The Point-in-Time Count for 2025 will take place from January 21-29.
It will coincide with Spokane Connect, a resource fair to help unsheltered individuals find the care they need in the new year.
For more information and to view the dashboard, click here.
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