SPOKANE, Wash. — St. Agnes Family Haven is Catholic Charities' latest vision to help those in need.
Renderings shared at Wednesday night's Spokane Public Schools board meeting show what the 48-unit community could look like on the corner of Sunset Blvd. and Government Way.
A family earning $53,000 a year with four members would qualify to live at St. Agnes Haven," said Jonathan Mallahan, Catholic Charities Chief Housing Officer.
Mallahan said there will be more community outreach and Catholic Charities is preparing an application to the Washington State Housing Trust Fund to develop the property.
Onsite services would include case management, employment assistance, and counseling/behavioral health care. Catholic Charities would partner with Spokane Public Schools and provide after-school programs, mentoring, and tutoring for kids living at St. Agnes.
"Housing is a very important topic in Spokane," said West Hills Neighborhood Council Chair William Hagy. "However, you can't just put it wherever you please."
Hagy wants Catholic Charities to find another part of town.
"We're majorly concerned with compacting services such as that, that Catholic Charities has a track record of doing."
Hagy said West Hills neighbors are already dealing with the Catalyst project which opened in late 2022 just up the street. This summer, a homeless woman intentionally started a fire in front of the property, which quickly grew and threatened the entire neighborhood.
"This very much paints a picture that has already happened downtown Spokane surrounding Second and Division, which is a major concern," Hagy said.
The West Hills Neighborhood Council is set to vote on a resolution Tuesday night asking City Council members and the City's Land Use Committee to put a moratorium on new developments until the Sunset Blvd. bridge can be repaired, which Hagy estimates could take 4 years.
“People who are stably housed when they are children have higher levels of educational obtainment," Mallahan said. "They have higher levels of income when they are adults and they are less likely to experience homelessness when they are adults. So, this is a really critical time in people's lives, and building housing like that will be provided at St. Agnes Family Haven will change lives for generations to come.”
If funding is secured, Mallahan said construction could start in 2024 and be completed by 2026.
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