Miscommunication blamed as homeless told no room at Trent shelter, warming center

Some homeless Spokane residents attempting to get out of the dangerous cold weather were unable to get a bed midday Wednesday at the city’s largest indoor shelter, which the mayor had promised wouldn’t turn anyone away. The city said there was a misunderstanding and it wouldn’t happen again Wednesday night.

City officials blamed a communication error, stating unequivocally that no one else would be turned away from the Trent Resource and Assistance Center as temperatures were expected to drop to 10 degrees below zero.

Some were told they could come in long enough to warm up but then had to leave, while others were reportedly told they had to go, said Julie Garcia, founder of Jewels Helping Hands, which manages the Camp Hope homeless encampment.

Garcia said she had attempted to transport multiple people to the shelter Wednesday, only to be turned away. Instead, she brought them to Compassionate Addiction Treatment, which has opened its doors as an emergency warming center.

Mayor Nadine Woodward committed Tuesday that no one would be turned away from the shelter as temperatures plummeted.

“It has nothing to do with politics anymore – this is people’s lives you’re risking at this point lying with information like that,” Garcia said. “If someone walks all the way to the Trent shelter and they get turned away, it’s a mile walk to the next shelter.”

As a small army of volunteers swapped the Trent shelter’s hundreds of wooden beds with metal ones, the building’s occupants were reportedly unable to access portions of the facility. The lack of space prompted management with the Salvation Army, which runs the site, to begin turning people away, according to local service providers and members of the City Council.

City Council President Breean Beggs and Councilwoman Karen Stratton said Wednesday they had learned from shelter staff that people were turned away.

More than 60 people went to the Compassionate Addiction Treatment office by Wednesday afternoon, executive director Hallie Burchinal said.

Burchinal, who was critical of what she said was insufficient planning to provide adequate shelter for the homeless this winter, said the Compassionate Addiction Treatment offices would be open through the night to anyone needing to warm up.

“We know there’s more people outside than shelter capacity, and the temperatures are dangerous and only worsening overnight,” she said.

Burchinal added her organization had spoken with city officials Wednesday and was told there was no funding to support her efforts, but that the city would ask code enforcement officers if the treatment center office’s occupancy limit could be expanded on an emergency basis.

The logistical breakdown at the Trent shelter was not limited to turning away the homeless. Beggs visited the shelter Wednesday and found inoperable hand-washing stations .

Overflow mats meant for the homeless when the beds are all full were also being withheld in some cases, Stratton said she had learned from staff.

City spokesperson Brian Coddington said Wednesday evening that he had not been told by shelter staff that people were being outright turned away, nor that some had been denied mats.

He acknowledged that a miscommunication led Salvation Army staff to tell the homeless seeking refuge at the Trent shelter that there wasn’t sufficient room for new guests to stay for long while the beds were being swapped out. That issue had been resolved by Wednesday night, he said.

“No one will be turned away tonight,” Coddington said. “Mats will be available for anyone who doesn’t have a bed, and (the Salvation Army) will coordinate with other shelter resources in the area.”

He noted the Trent shelter is not the only option. According to sheltermespokane.org, the city’s regularly updated list of shelter beds, there were 93 spaces open as of Tuesday night throughout the city’s shelter system. Most of those beds only serve certain populations, however.

Coddington said the issue with the hand-washing stations, which operate on a tank that needs to be refilled manually, had been fixed since Beggs left the facility earlier in the day.