SPOKANE, Wash. — The Spokane Convention Center hosted the 2022 Spokane Homeless Connect, which brings free resources and services to a central location for those in the community experiencing homelessness.
This is the 10th year the event offers free services in Spokane
Last year, the event was cancelled because of COVID, and this year, the event was postponed in January due to a rise in Spokane COVID case numbers.
On Tuesday, the Spokane Convention Center opened, and it was filled with over 90 vendors, offering free resources including housing assistance, legal help and navigating how to get out of homelessness.
One attendee called the event help a blessing.
"I was surprised and shocked when I walked in here and saw they did all of this," Christopher Gentry, Spokane resident said.
In addition to information booths, the event also provided free hot food, clothing, pet services, and a COVID vaccine clinic.
Spokane resident Melissa Dickson said she came out to take advantage of the free haircuts.
"I haven't had a haircut in 10 years," Dickson said. "To have this kind of event going on, I think every city, every major city should have this. It’s awesome to have this program for everybody to be able to come here and get the help they actually need because too many people are really afraid to. They feel shy and nervous.”
The Spokane Homeless Connect chair Kari Stevens said she and her team started the event when trying to figure out how to support Spokane's homeless community.
With their main concern being how to address transportation barriers, they decided to create an event that provided a central location to access a plethora of resources.
Over the last 10 years, Stevens said she has seen the event grow from helping hundreds to now thousands of community members in need.
But that fact also sheds light on a sad reality.
"I wish that there wasn’t a need to grow," Stevens said. "I wish that was the case. Ultimately, the goal is to shrink, not grow but we’ll see what we have to do and we’ll make it work."
Stevens said she's expecting to help up to 1,200 attendees through the day's event.