SPOKANE, Wash – One in five people in Spokane will lose federal food benefits if the government shutdown extends into November, prompting Mayor Lisa Brown to declare an emergency.
Mayor Brown announced the emergency Wednesday in a news conference atop Spokane City Hall.
She was joined by council members and representatives from non-profits who will see increased demand as those food benefits go away.
Mayor Brown said the emergency accelerates the deployment of resources and connections to addiction and housing services.
The city plans to add 50 beds to the shelter system, but it’s not clear yet where those beds will be.
Mayor Brown said the emergency will also speed up the ability for people to get access to addiction prevention services.
“As we ramp up both engagement and enforcement, there’s still a dire need for places to go and connections to services when people need them,” Mayor Brown said.
She said between 80 and 100 people are visiting the navigation center each day looking for services.
“This is a quiet hurricane that is happening,” Mayor Brown said of the loss of federal benefits.
“This is something completely solvable by federal action,” said City Council Member Shelly Lambdin, urging bipartisan cooperation to end the shutdown.
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