SPOKANE, Wash. — During Monday night's legislative session, Spokane City Council voted unanimously on a resolution that aims to prioritize funding for the Hope House shelter and current shelter providers in the city's 2023 budget.
This news comes after the Hope House shelter announced that it would be closing its doors at the end of January, meaning the loss of 100 shelter beds in the middle of winter.
According to the city, city council intends to utilize funding from the $3.5 million in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds it set aside for homeless capital and operational needs.
“City Council acted to reverse the Mayor’s proposal to cut funding to existing homeless shelter operators by $1.5 million next year,” said Council President Breean Beggs. “I believe that we should prioritize our existing limited funds towards keeping our trusted long-time partners like Hope House open before we consider adding new beds. The City will continue to work towards opening more permanently affordable beds and keeping warming space open during these challenging times.”
The city says the resolution supports first funding existing providers under contract with the City in 2022 that provide night-by-night shelter at the same levels as 2022 funding amounts, assuming a similar level of service for 2023 when inflation is considered, before funding new or expanded shelter operations that weren’t in place for the entirety of 2022.
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