SPOKANE, Wash. — Tucked in a corner of Downtown Spokane off Pacific Avenue, dozens of people experiencing homelessness gather for meals, shelter and supplies. The spot fills nightly, with several outreach charities headquartered in that block.
A previously empty building on Pacific joined the group of outreach centers recently, but it’s different than the other charities.
Local artist Chris Bovey, who is known for creating the Vintage Prints brand in Spokane, started The Revival to help feed the ‘house-less’ community.
“We were just reading as a family, just praying, and we brought some sandwiches and water. We decided to keep doing that every single week,” Bovey said.
Eventually, the tradition grew into more than just weekly.
Bovey partnered with the Street Soldiers of Christ outreach group to create a more permanent program. Now, The Revival has a building on Pacific and serves food to the community every evening.
The experience from Street Soldiers of Christ member Jamel Rose helped Bovey build closer relationships with the community.
In early 2020, Rose was living on the street and addicted to hard drugs. It wasn’t until police arrested Rose that he changed his life course.
“If it wasn’t for the grace of God and me getting arrested, I would probably be dead. That’s the truth,” Rose said.
After months of treatment, Rose decided to help others going through similar situations. Doing that helped him reflect on the homeless situation in the city.
“We just need to humanize everyone, whether it’s the homeless person or it’s the police officer correcting them. We have to humanize everyone,” Rose said.
The Revival has plans to expand their services as they grow. It is not zoned to be a full shelter, but Bovey is planning to work with the city to provide resources like laundry and mail to the community.