SPOKANE, Wash. — For months, The Catalyst Project has been at the center of back and forth tensions between Catholic Charities and some people in the West Hills neighborhood.
Now, tensions have turned into cease and desist letters on behalf of Catholic Charities.
According to people in the 'Save West Hills' neighborhood group, at least four people have received C&D letters about their behavior around the Catalyst Project.
One of those letters was delivered to Sarah Hunter last month. She said she was shocked by what she read in the letter, mostly because she believes the content is false.
"They’re accusing me of lurking and stalking," Hunter said. "Stalking is a felony. That’s not me and I absolutely did not do that.”
Hunter is a part of the 'Save West Hills' group that has organized protests outside the Catalyst building and voiced their concerns for the project.
However, Hunter said she hasn't been to the building more than twice. She said the claims in the letter are untrue.
"You’re intimidating me and my family and we work hard in this community," Hunter explained. "And we want to help people. But, to be treated like the way we’ve been treated since the start of this project is appalling. It saddens me.”
In the letter, Catholic Charities claims Hunter has "spent substantial periods parked outside the Catalyst Project," and had "increasing hostile and aggressive interactions with staff."
CEO of Catholic Charities Rob McCann said in his 23 years of working with the organization, he has never seen behavior like this or sent a C&D letter to a neighbor.
McCann also shared a statement on behalf of his organization, responding to the letters:
"Catholic Charities has a 110-year history of working with neighbors and community members across the 13 counties of Eastern Washington in which we serve over 65,000 different people in need each year. We always engage in dialogue with neighbors as long as that dialogue is polite, professional, and has reasonable elements of safety and mutual respect. We are, and have been in regular communication with our neighbors in the West Hills who have, for the most part, been willing to engage in positive, professional and honest dialogue with us. Those dialogues, although sometimes centered on challenging issues of our day, have been productive and gone quite well.
Unfortunately, the behavior of an extremely small number of West Hills residents has placed the health and safety of our staff and clients at risk. That behavior, which generally includes filming staff and vulnerable residents on an ongoing basis, sharing incorrect, knowingly untrue and inflammatory information on social media, and making threatening/intimidating/profanity-laced statements to staff and fragile clients has created an environment that has caused our staff and program participants to feel unsafe in their workplace and at their homes.
There are more than 3,200 official "residents" of the West Hills. The behavior we have experienced that has become a threat t basic health and safety comes from approximately 6-9 individuals who claim to be West Hills residents. We do not believe that this troubling conduct represents any majority of the West Hills Neighborhood at all, but rather are the continued dangerous and disturbing actions of a small group of deeply wounded and hurting individuals who we will continue to pray might have a transformation of heart.
As we pray for and await that transformation of heart from this small group of people, we also recognize that we have a responsibility as an employer and as an organization whose mission is to reveal God's love to the poor and vulnerable, to ensure that we are providing a safe and secure environment for our staff and clients. By notifying this very small number of individuals who are participating in potentially harmful behaviors, that they should cease and desist their actions and by preventing them from continuing to access our properties, we are fulfilling this responsibility.
We are encouraged by early successes at Catalyst. To date more than 50 participants are enrolled, and more intakes are scheduled in the days and weeks going forward. Participants at the project are accessing meal and laundry services, case management, employment support, behavioral health services, recovery groups, and medical care—all pointed toward the goals of long-range housing stability and improved overall health. We look forward to helping more participants connect to Catalyst and begin working toward these goals and we remain committed to protecting our staff and our clients from any threat or danger that might present itself."
Hunter said while she disagrees with the project, she doesn’t disagree with the need to support those experiencing homelessness.
“I want to help the homeless," Hunter said. "I just think there’s a better way to do it. A better use of resources.”
The West Hills neighborhood council and Rob McCann both say they've expressed interest in a Good Neighbor Agreement. However, the council chair shared messages that have not been returned by chief-executives at Catholic Charities.
Spokane Police also shared crime numbers for the last three months for the area within 1/4 mile radius of the Catalyst building, comparing them to the same time frame one year ago. SPD said calls for service do not directly correlate with causation as there are a multitude of factors that go into crime trends.
- Nov 2021 vs Nov 2022: 54 CFS vs 40 CFS
- Dec 2021 vs Dec 2022: 45 CFS vs 77 CFS
- Jan 2022 vs Jan 2023: 54 CFS vs 60 CFS
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