Spokane County breaks ground on new treatment facility considered ‘beacon of hope’ in combating addiction, mental health crises

The Inland Northwest is closer to bolstering its services for mental health and drug addiction.

The Spokane County Commission broke ground Thursday on a 17,000-square-foot diversion and recovery facility dubbed the Prevention, Assessment, Treatment and Healing , or PATH, Crisis Relief and Sobering Center.

Local leaders described the expansion as a major boost to a community that has suffered greatly in the past few years from an explosion of overdose deaths, in particular from fentanyl.

“This facility will be a beacon of hope in our region’s fight against the opioid epidemic,” County Commissioner Chris Jordan said. “The healing that will happen here will save lives and put many people on the road to recovery and stability.”

A preliminary report released in February by the Spokane County Medical Examiner’s Office showed 344 overdose deaths in Spokane County in 2025, but those numbers were incomplete because some deaths still were awaiting toxicology results. There were 346 overdose deaths in 2024. That was up from 80 in 2019, when Spokane County overdose fatalities began increasing. Fentanyl had been the leading drug causing overdose deaths, but it was taken over by methamphetamine last year for the first time since 2020.

The project is expected to cost $21 million and expand upon the county’s existing 46-bed stabilization center at 1302 W. Gardner Ave.

Jordan said more than 8,000 people have received care since the center opened at its current capacity in 2021. Commission Chair Mary Brooks noted the facility is full as of Thursday morning, highlighting the need for the expansion.

“We’re here because of the necessity of addressing addiction in our communities,” Brooks said.

Justin Johnson, director of the county’s community services department, said the new facility expected to open in early 2027 will continue to be a key part of diversion efforts, while also reducing strain on local hospitals. The facility will be a comprehensive, centralized location for “crisis relief, sobering, stabilization, withdrawal management and co-occurring treatment.”

“When an individual is in crisis, they often get lost in a complex system,” Johnson said. “Either in the criminal, legal system, or they find themselves in an overburdened ER. What we’re trying to do here is address that.”

It’s about ensuring people “receive care, when they need it, in one location,” Johnson added.

The project received about $4 million in state funds during the past two years, $3 million in congressionally directed spending, $10 million from the county’s mental health sales tax and $5 million from the county’s settlement of lawsuits against opioid manufacturers and distributors.

State Sen. Marcus Riccelli said the facility will be essential in caring for Spokane County residents, and its importance was clear to state legislators, who directed two separate capital budget allocations to make the project possible.

“I know that this will reduce some of the need gaps in our community, reduce hospitalization and incarceration,” Riccelli said. “And most importantly though, we’re investing in the wellness of our community members.”

The county also provides funding to Maddie’s Place for neonatal abstinence care, sobering and triage services through Spokane Treatment and Addiction Recovery, co-responder teams for the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office and the Spokane Fire Department, as well as student wellness initiatives at local schools.

“We’re hard at work; that’s the bottom line,” Jordan said.