SPOKANE, Wash. — As the cost of living continues to increase, several organizations in Spokane are offering help to families and individuals at risk of being evicted from their homes.
On Monday, some of those nonprofits received their share of over $1 million in funding from the City of Spokane to help keep people in their homes. The allocated money is from the city’s Eviction Prevention Fund.
Last year, around 1 in 33 renters in Spokane County were evicted from their homes, according to the Eviction Research Network.
“I think right now, with the cost of housing increasing so rapidly, and people needing time to try to make adjustments, people are just getting behind,” said Joe Ader, CEO of Family Promise.
Family Promise helped 795 people avoid eviction in 2024.
Many of the organizations said the need for rent assistance is growing in our area.
“This assistance is really needed in our community because the need is far greater than the funding that we have,” said Chelsey Dunham, Rental Assistance Specialist with SNAP.
SNAP (Spokane Neighborhood Action Partners) is one of the local organizations that provides eviction prevention. It received just over $800,000 from the city, which should keep their assistance program running through June.
“It’s a very short period, but we’re grateful that the assistance is available for that short period,” she said.
The SNAP program helps singles and couples without children catch up on their bills.
“So, they have to currently owe their rent or have an eviction notice. And then, they have to be at 80% area median income. Those two qualifications allow them to apply for the program,” she said.
In addition to providing emergency assistance, eviction programs also help facilitate conversations between tenants and landlords to help come up with a viable plan to make ends meet.
“We also have case managers with those families and the landlord to try to keep them in housing and work through the issues that they have going on,” said Ader.
Catholic Charities of Eastern Washington also provides an assistance program for families with children.
COPYRIGHT 2025 BY KXLY. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. THIS MATERIAL MAY NOT BE PUBLISHED, BROADCAST, REWRITTEN OR REDISTRIBUTED.
