Spokane nonprofit to build housing community for domestic violence survivors

Spokane’s Mujeres in Action is developing a permanent housing community in the northeastern part of Spokane for domestic violence survivors. Casa MiA – which is set to break ground in 2026 and welcome tenants by 2027 – will serve individuals benefiting from MiA’s services.

“In advocating for domestic violence and sexual assault survivors, our advocates report a maze of challenges that make life incredibly unstable for families,” said Sebastian Ruiz, the community policy liaison for MiA. “For survivors, having a safe space (that) they feel they can call their own is a vital component of recovering from trauma.”

According to Ruiz, even renting a space within a community that is focused on recovery, collaboration and the ability to thrive is often what some of these individuals need to begin feeling stable.

Ruiz said that MiA offers an advocacy program that connects individuals with resources to establish their living circumstances. Because the need for housing is so high and competitive, MiA started conversations about what more the organization could be doing for the community it serves.

From pandemic idea to reality

Ana Trusty, executive director of MiA, said that discussions about the housing project began during the pandemic, when rental property availability dropped to unprecedented lows.

In addition to the limitations within the market itself, Trusty said that there were other hurdles that faced members of the community MiA serves, making it even more difficult for them to establish a community for themselves .

“Even if they do have housing, people are so isolated as immigrants in this country,” Trusty said. “We come from a communal and collaborative culture. So we wanted to create a community environment where they could heal and move through that trauma and build new skills so they can thrive in Spokane.”

In 2024, members of MiA went to Olympia and received $1 million from the capital budget.

“It was a testament to us and to the community that this project was something viable,” Trusty said.

MiA is continuing to collect funding for this project with the projected date to have residents moving into the community begin in the fall of 2027.

Building community, not just housing

Casa MiA will be a cottage community located on 2 acres of land, featuring 13 one- and two-bedroom homes with a central clubhouse.

Trusty noted that 13 homes feels like a small number for the extensive need there is in the community for those affected by domestic violence. Ruiz has hopes that the fruits reaped from MiA’s project could inspire additional efforts in the years to come.

“I hope the project unequivocally demonstrates how investments in real homelessness prevention programs have massive payoffs for both the community broadly and for the families,” Ruiz said. “Securing funding support for such a program will be an ongoing effort that we hope will be self-evident in its first few years.”

There is not a limit to how long those who apply and are accepted to live in Casa MiA are able to stay within the community. The desire, however, is to act as a stepping stone in these survivors’ journey.

“Our goal is that through workshops and community collaboration, their next step would be to (own) their own home,” Trusty said.

Ruiz mirrored that sentiment.

“We hope these residences will have a life-changing positive impact on the families that come to us,” Ruiz said. “This need not be the end-game but a trampoline to something better.”

This story was written in partnership with FāVS News, a nonprofit newsroom covering faith and religion in the Inland Northwest.