SPOKANE, Wash. — Ronald Howard has been staying at the Cannon Street Shelter for nearly a year. Now, he and other residents are being told they'll have to move to the Trent shelter.
"We're being told that we have to be out by next week. I believe Wednesday," Howard said. "Next Wednesday is the last day we're supposed to be here."
The city's contract with the shelter operator here expires at the end of May. But, people are already being moved as the city looks to turn Cannon into a medical respite facility.
"It will take a lot of people off the street," Julie Garcia of Jewels Helping Hands said.
Garcia says people with certain disabilities have two options: Live on the street or stay in a hospital bed. They don't fit into the shelter system.
"It has nothing to do with the shelter system as a whole, it has to do with being a provider and having to have insurance that covers the staff in there and staff can't do things that they are not skilled enough to do," Garcia said. "You can't dress yourself without assistance. You can't push your own wheel chair. You need help transferring from a wheelchair to a bed or to the potty, whatever. If they can't perform them without assistance they are not eligible for a shelter bed."
A resolution passed by council members this week seeks to turn Cannon into a respite facility by this June. It could be staffed by healthcare professionals, potentially funded with Medicaid dollars.
According to the city, the Salvation Army has started moving people fro Cannon to Trent in phases to ensure people with higher needs have access to the services they need.
"There's several of them they've already sent over there I really don't feel have the mental capacity to survive over there," Howard said. "Trent is actually a pretty rough place."
Howard says he will need an electrical outlet for his nebulizer.
"How long are we going to have to leave for?," Howard asked. "I'd like to know when I can come back."
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