SPOKANE, Wash. — After months of work and backlash, Catholic Charities' Catalyst Housing Project opened its doors this week.
Lead peer supporter for Jewels Helping Hands Sharyl Brown said she couldn't be more excited about the Sunset Boulevard Project.
"Feels so good. There's been a rollercoaster of emotions. There's still some bumps in the road, but they're working with us. So I feel like it's going to be successful as long as we work together," Brown said.
Brown said she refers people from the homeless encampment, who she knows will step up for the program.
One person who's moving in is Mikhail Kly. He said he's looking forward to a new start.
"I know I'm going to miss this place, but honestly, I'm just ready to have access to a shower and a warm bed," Kly said.
More people are expected to make the move in the coming weeks.
But Julie Garcia with Jewels Helping Hands said the recent warnings to clear the camp are hurting their work.
"It's actually impeding work that we're actually doing," Garcia said. "Every time they come, we have to stop what we're doing. Our day shuts down, everything shuts down."
The building is expected to house up to 100 people.
People who qualify for the Catalyst Housing Project will have a room to stay in and then get support to transition into permanent housing.
"It's just a safe place to go, it's warm. I'm going to use it as transition, try to get a job, stay working," Kly said.
Jewels Helping Hands hopes to fill up the Catalyst Housing Project within a month.
Jewels Helping Hands will move about four people into the Catalyst Housing Project every day, and they hope to increase that number once they become more familiar with the intake process.
DOWNLOAD THE KREM SMARTPHONE APP
HOW TO ADD THE KREM+ APP TO YOUR STREAMING DEVICE
ROKU: add the channel from the ROKU store or by searching for KREM in the Channel Store.
Fire TV: search for "KREM" to find the free app to add to your account. Another option for Fire TV is to have the app delivered directly to your Fire TV through Amazon.
To report a typo or grammatical error, please email webspokane@krem.com.