SPOKANE, Wash. — Children staying at Family Promise of Spokane now have a dedicated space to play after the organization celebrated the opening of its new playground and backyard facility.
The organization, which helps families experiencing homelessness, unveiled the renovated outdoor space that cost around $250,000, not including donated volunteer time for landscaping.
Joe Ader, CEO of Family Promise of Spokane, emphasized the importance of the space for the families they serve.
“We serve a lot of families that have domestic violence past or situations that they’re fleeing,” Ader said. “Play is super important for kids, but especially kids that have been through trauma. Homelessness is a traumatic experience.”
The playground allows children and their parents to experience normalcy during a stressful period in their lives.
“This playground gives a safe on-site place for those kids to just play and be kids,” Ader said.
The space features slides, a swing set and a basketball court contributed by Molina Healthcare.
“The more people we can get out of homelessness, and into stable housing, it just benefits the entire community as a whole,” said Rob Stevens of Molina Healthcare.
The project required several years of planning and coordination with the city of Spokane for zoning and permits.
“We had to do several different steps to get it to where it is today,” he said.
Community donors lined up to support the project once construction began, demonstrating widespread support for the organization’s mission to help families end the cycle of homelessness.
Brent Byers from the LDS Church, which donated to the playscape, said he gained a better understanding of the organization’s work.
“This morning I had a chance to do, a walkthrough of the facilities. Just got a better understanding of how family promises is lifting and helping and assisting so many families,” Byers said.
Renovations like these don’t go unnoticed by families at the facility. For Marie Allen, a former guest at Family Promise, the playground represents something invaluable.
“It’s a place to make you feel safe. A home when you don’t have a home. And I think that that’s very important when you feel like you’re just reaching for straws,” Allen said.
Allen and her husband Tom experienced homelessness and stayed at Family Promise. Tom now works for the organization that helped them get back on their feet.
“Kids don’t choose to be homeless — It just happens. And so to help keep families together and not separate them so they can get housing and stay in housing is the best mission ever,” Tom Allen said.
He also expressed gratitude for community support: “I just want to thank everybody, the volunteers, the community for everything that they do to help, to help us keep going and keep helping these families. That’s the best, best blessing ever.”
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