SPOKANE, Wash. — There's a lot of talk about the future of the Cannon Street shelter.
"It's a conversation we're having and we're talking about what it could look like if it does close at the end of May," said Brian Coddington, Spokane's director of communications.
The Salvation Army has run this shelter since late last year in partnership with the city. Now, the City of Spokane is looking to close it.
"Are we starting the transition now of Cannon Shelter beds to the Trent Shelter? When will that process actually begin?" asked Spokane city councilmember Betsy Wilkerson during Monday's Urban Experience Committee meeting.
The proposal is for the 80 or so beds at Cannon to be absorbed into the Trent Resource and Assistance Center.
The UEC heard the request Monday to amend the contract with the Salvation Army to end May 31, giving the organization funds to operate until then.
"A total of $800,000 which will come from reallocated Department of Commerce Shelter Program grant funding," explained Jenn Cerecedes, director of the Community, Housing and Human Services Department.
Though for all this talk, one user of the Cannon Street shelter said he hadn't heard anything about it.
"If it wasn't for these people, we wouldn't have no place to go," William said of the shelter.
He's there seven days a week because it's an easy spot to walk from to get to bus stops and other necessities, plus he feels it's one of the only options for him and his girlfriend.
"No, if you're a couple, if you're single," he said. "Union Gospel Mission only gives you 90 days, these guys give you for however long."
The city's now discussing how to transition people out of Cannon, while talking about what the site could become.
"We've been starting conversations with other potential providers for that fragile medical center that Cannon could then transition into," said city councilor president Breean Beggs.
The leading idea is to transform the shelter into a respite care facility.
Coddington says Spokane is moving toward a regional approach to homelessness, in partnership with Spokane Valley and the county, to address other gaps in service.
"We're continuing to evolve and we think we've made significant steps in this system and there's more work to do," he said.
Though without Cannon Street shelter, William and others wonder what gaps they'll fall through. Some users say they've never been to the Trent shelter and don't plan to go there. They'll go back to the streets instead.
"Stay in our car and hope the cops don't bother us," William said.
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