SPOKANE, Wash. — Discussions are underway for how the City of Spokane should be handling homelessness.
Earlier this week, the city hosted a homeless roundtable, which allowed members of the community to come together and discuss the issue.
Two of the items discussed were the “Ban the Address” proposal, which would remove the address section from employee applications, and the Good Neighbor agreement, an agreement between homeless organizations and the surrounding community.
Julie Garcia is a 2nd Chance employer who runs two homeless shelters in Spokane. She attended the roundtable.
“This is bringing people together who may not have the same opinions or even understand the other side but it will be helpful,” Garcia said.
As a 2nd Chance employer, she has helped those experiencing homelessness find jobs.
“I’ve heard the stories, I’ve gone with people to interviews, I’ve seen the stigma that homelessness puts on everybody, and it does make it hard to get a job,” Garcia said.
Garcia believes Ban the Address is a necessity. She also believes the Good Neighbor agreement is a good idea.
“Breaking the rules of our good neighbor agreement is an exit from our facility,” Garcia said.
While Garcia agrees with both of the topics discussed, others at the meeting did not feel as positive.
“You can’t enforce the laws that you have right now, what is the point in adding another law that does not get enforced?” asked Curtis Rystadt, owner of the Indigo Hotel.
Rystadt said he is all for hiring people experiencing homelessness and having good neighbor agreements. What he wants, though, is for people to enforce the current laws.
“I think areas that don’t have the responsibility that Jewels is showing, those lead to the problems,” Rystadt said.
This is a statement Garcia agrees with.
“We as providers must have some accountability to be good neighbors,” she said.
Garcia believes these homeless roundtables are a good place for problem-solving to start and to give feedback to the city.
The next roundtable is scheduled for October 22.
COPYRIGHT 2024 BY KXLY. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. THIS MATERIAL MAY NOT BE PUBLISHED, BROADCAST, REWRITTEN OR REDISTRIBUTED.