Temporary overnight shelter opens for young adults in Women’s Hearth
Women’s Hearth will temporarily serve as an overnight shelter for young adults.
Volunteers of America will convert Women’s Hearth, a day center for women, into a shelter every night for men and women between 18 and 24 years old.
The shelter will have capacity for 15 overnight guests and operate on a first-come first-served basis, Volunteers of America announced on Thursday.
Women’s Hearth will serve only as a temporary home for the young adult shelter, which Volunteers of America hopes to eventually locate near the Spokane Community College campus.
“We are so grateful for the partnership with Women’s Hearth as they continue to be an amazing partner,” Fawn Schott, president and CEO of Volunteers of America, said in a statement. “Creating a pathway for young adults to exit homelessness quickly is a prevention strategy to minimize the number of chronically homeless adults in our community. VOA wants to be part of a regional solution that addresses and resolves homelessness.”
Volunteers of America already enjoys a close relationship with Women’s Hearth, which is run by the separate nonprofit Transitions. Many of the guests at Hope House, the women’s shelter operated by Volunteers of America, utilize the services at Women’s Hearth during the day.
The young adult shelter is funded by a $2.6 million grant awarded to the Spokane region by the Department of Commerce last year.
Volunteers of America is still working to finalize the location of the new shelter.
The location was a point of contention last year when Spokane Mayor Nadine Woodward initially insisted it be placed outside the city’s borders. She later relented after receiving assurances that Volunteers of America would ameliorate the concerns of the future shelter’s neighbors.
Eventually, the permanent shelter is expected to serve 45 young adults experiencing homelessness.
For now, the temporary shelter at 920 W. Second Ave. will operate from 9 p.m. to 8 a.m., and guests will be served one meal.