SPOKANE, Wash. — The release of the documentary Curing Spokane stirred up mixed reviews.
Produced by Spokane developer, Larry Stone, the film tries to highlight key issues plaguing Spokane and offers four solutions they believed would advance the city into better times.
Homelessness and crime in Spokane were correlated with one another throughout the film and that’s caused some concern from local groups that volunteer and work on improving their situation.
Julie Garcia is the founder of Jewels Helping Hands. Her organization focuses on providing basic needs for the homeless such as showers, food, and clothing.
“I think that over-dramatizing what’s actually going on in our streets is not giving people the real idea of how to fix the problem,” said Garcia.
She believes the documentary used fear and doesn’t feel that will solve any of the actual problems. Working with the homeless and spending time with them is something she says that will give a better insight into their problems.
“Spokane doesn’t need to be cured. It just needs a helping hand.”
Garcia also says portions of the film portray many of the homeless people in a false light and she knows some of the people that were made out to appear as drug users have been sober for years.
“If you want to see what goes on in these streets, call me. I will drive you around with me. I will let you meet people. I will show you the research that we have done. I won’t just show you that the way it’s done I can prove to you.”
