SPOKANE, Wash. — The commotion at Spokane's Coeur d’Alene Park last week was the result of confusion over a lease that was coming to an end.
Dozens of homeless people didn't know where to go, but the city now has a plan in place.
“This place is for people experiencing homelessness,” Jewels Helping Hands leaders Julie Garcia said. “We fought for these beds instead of mats so they need to be able to use them."
Jewels Helping Hands were the tenants throughout the winter months while it served as a warming center.
Since the disagreement at the park, the city has apologized to Jewels for how it handled the eviction and the organization has now completely moved out of the building.
“Saturday night, Guardians [Foundation] began operating the Cannon Street Facility in addition to the library shelter,” explained City of Spokane spokesperson Brian Coddington.
More than 100 people would use the facility daily, so there was concern about what would happen to them and where they would go next.
“So moving forward with the Cannon site, that’ll continue to be a facility for the next couple of weeks,” Coddington said.
The shelter will remain open along with the downtown library location while a more permanent location is sought out.
Everything that was brought in under Jewels will be utilized. It just won't be under their leadership anymore.
That means the beds will stay. The showers are the only thing Jewels will take with them, and those will be set up throughout Spokane and Spokane Valley.
As for Garcia and Jewels Helping Hands, she’s said their long term goal hasn't changed.
“Our end goal is still to provide a warming center with not city funded beds and that’s always been our goal since the beginning of this," she said.
They’ll now shift their focus to what's next which includes a food and clothing bank as well as the showers they offered to the homeless last summer.