SPOKANE, Wash. — Spokane County has approved spending $500,000 to provide additional beds and services at the Trent Resource and Assistance Center (TRAC).
The money will be used on new office trailers, more storage containers, beds, and showers.
The portable office trailers will provide a private space for individual appointments and assessments, as well as office space for service providers to meet with people who are staying at the shelter. The trailers should be on site this week.
County funds will also be used to purchase metal framed beds, mattresses, and blankets. Money has also been set aside for additional partitions which will offer additional privacy between beds. The beds are expected to arrive over the next few weeks and will be built as they come in.
The county will also purchase an 8-stall mobile heated shower unit. The county said it is similar to the showers used in firefighting camps during wildfires.
Hello for Good donated an additional $35,000 to cover the cost of storage containers. It includes four large storage containers and 600 individual containers that will give people a secure place to keep their belongings. People will be allowed to keep one bin at the end of their bed.
The county hopes the funding will accommodate more people to be moved out of the homeless camp near I-90 and into the Trent shelter.
“With the cold weather upon us, it is more crucial than ever that we get people out of the elements,” Spokane County Commissioner Board Chair Mary Kuney said in a written statement.
The county said there is also work underway to accommodate more animals at the navigation center.
“Our focus has been to remove barriers for use of the navigation center as a critical path to transitional and permanent housing,” Spokane Mayor Nadine Woodward said in a written statement.
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