The League of Women Voters of the Spokane Area recommends that the Spokane City Council make increased assistance to individuals experiencing homelessness a budget priority.

Based on the state League’s position and our year-long review of the current conditions in Spokane, LWV of the Spokane Area strongly recommends that the city: 

1. Secure sufficient low-barrier 24/7 shelter beds, including meals, for unsheltered individuals.
2. Provide places for unsheltered individuals to go during the daythat is warm and dry.
3. Provide sanctioned public places with trash disposal, restrooms, and handwashing facilities, where those experiencing homelessness can set up tents and/or park their vehicles

In January 2020, the City of Spokane Community, Housing and Human Services Department organized and led the HUD required annual Point in Time (PIT) Count of homeless individuals. The PIT count is recognized as an undercount due to a variety of different reasons including that some people experiencing homelessness are sheltering in low-visibility locations. The resulting count was 1,559 individuals experiencing homelessness.The Spokane Police Department (SPD) has been tasked with seeking out encampments of unsheltered individuals on public land to impel them to relocate and engage with services. This action is commonly known as “sweeping.” Individuals who are consistently forced to relocate, with or without a citation, are repeatedly traumatized by this experience. The SPD may issue a citation, if they believe that there are available shelter beds, to refer individuals to services at community court. Failure to comply may lead to a criminal misdemeanor, which could impact their future housing and employment prospects. There is a common misconception that there are currently 648 beds available; however, only 237* of them are low-barrier beds that are available for individuals without minor children (barriers may include gender, state of sobriety, fee, age, religion, family make-up, etc.)

We commend the city for its continued work, to add capacity to house individuals experiencing homelessness. However, as of October 2020, the city has capacity for 237 single individuals without minor children within low-barrier shelters at the Men’s and Women’s House of Charity shelters as well as at the Salvation Army 55 Mission facility. This is simply not enough. As of the January 2020 Point in Time count, there were at least 1,559 people in Spokane experiencing homelessness vs. 237 low-barrier shelter beds, a deficit of 1,322 beds.

The full letter and research supporting the Spokane Area League position is attached.