SPOKANE, Wash. — A new specialized shelter is opening at Knox Presbyterian Church in Spokane.
“We’re willing to sacrifice what we have in order to serve others,” said Camille Troxel, an elder with the church.
The city says this shelter will provide much needed space for women experiencing homelessness in the city.
The Knox site, located in the Emerson Garfield neighborhood, is a few blocks away from North Central High School and Garfield Elementary. It was previously a temporary shelter site for three months.
This shelter is one of eight sites in the city’s specialized shelter model. It will help up to 30 people at a time.
“We have the space, this is a massive building,” Troxel said. “It’s not even about making the space. It’s about how can we better steward the resources that we have.”
Each shelter serves a specific group whether that be families, people with medical needs or people looking for substance use treatment.
For those living near the Knox shelter, some say they will try to be open-minded.
Craig Williams is a long-time neighbor of the church. While at first he wasn’t on board with the shelter, he has come around to it once finding out it will be for women.
“If it’s been the other homeless, the other shelters, then I may have had a little bit of a problem,” he said.
The church says it is patiently awaiting for the shelter’s first residents to arrive.
“It helps us to step up to our missional goals and live up to our values of who we are and who we claim to be in Christ,” said Troxel.
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