As homeless shelter capacity stretches thin in Spokane, planning underway for winter

Overnight, the city relocated an emergency homeless shelter from the Spokane Arena to a new building on Mission Avenue.

Overnight, it exceeded capacity.

Since transitioning from its temporary shelter at the Spokane Arena – arranged amid the pandemic to allow for social distancing at the existing, permanent emergency shelters across Spokane – to the Mission Avenue facility, demand has exceeded capacity.

That prompted concern from the shelter’s operator last week, as the need for shelter space typically increases when the weather gets cooler – not while daily high temperatures still stretch well into the 80s.

It’s unclear why the two facilities, both of which sleep 102 guests, are seeing such drastic growth in demand, but there are probably a number of factors at play.

The Spokane Arena and the new Mission Avenue facility serve the same purpose, sheltering single adults, but are run by different nonprofits. The Spokane Arena was staffed by The Guardians Foundation, while the Mission Avenue space is run by The Salvation Army.

Salvation Army Maj. Ken Perrine told the Spokane City Council last week that the nonprofit is routinely turning away up to 10 guests per night.

Perrine warned the council’s Public Safety and Community Health Committee the city and its partners should take action quickly, before cold weather sets in.

“I always tell people, we should never think of homelessness as being illegal because someone is on the street. It should be illegal because we as a society are allowing that to happen,” Perrine said. “It’s on us, who are housed, to take care of those who are not.”

Space is at a premium as shelters continue to implement social distancing requirements by the Spokane Regional Health District, sleeping guests at least 6 feet apart to help stem the spread of COVID-19.

The city is working with regional partners to explore what the warming center program should look like this winter, according to city spokesman Brian Coddington. The social distancing requirements in place at local shelters are unlikely to ease anytime soon, he noted.

“By estimates, there’s going to be a COVID-related regional need,” Coddington said.

The city-owned building on Cannon Street, which served as a warming center operated by Jewels Helping Hands last season, is undergoing renovations but could serve the same purpose this winter, according to Coddington.

The focus of that work is bathrooms, showers and storage options for guests, according to Timothy Sigler, director of the city’s Community, Housing and Human Services department. The building will be able to hold up to 80 people, Sigler told the committee.

The Cannon Street facility will be a help, but Perrine suggested the city have a “backup to the backup plan.”

“It breaks your heart when somebody you know freezes to death out there,” Perrine said.

In its first 18 days of operating the new shelter, the Salvation Army reported transitioning 10 people into permanent housing and helping five gain employment. That effectiveness will help reduce the demand for shelter, Coddington contended.

It’s also a central piece of the Salvation Army’s mission.

“I think sometimes people get so wound up in just surviving, they’re not looking forward for how to thrive,” Perrine told the committee. “Our staff actually sits down, works with them, works them through the steps (and) gets them signed up into different programs.”

The shelter opened last month in the former Spokane Housing Authority headquarters at 55 W. Mission Ave., purchased with $1.3 million in federal COVID-19 aid funds allocated by the Spokane County Board of Commissioners.

It replaced the temporary shelter set up inside the Spokane Arena on a 90-day contract as part of the region’s COVID-19 response.

The Arena was used for shelter following the temporary use of the Spokane Public Library’s downtown branch for shelter.

The Mission Avenue shelter is more permanent than the Arena and library setups, with plans to eventually use the building as a “bridge” shelter for people ready for permanent housing and referred by other service providers.