SPOKANE, Wash. — The office of Mayor Lisa Brown announced on Wednesday that it has allocated a one-time additional $800,000 to the existing $250,000 set aside by the Spokane City Council for inclement weather sheltering.
These funds come from the City of Spokane’s 1590 HEART Fund which is made up of money collected from a sales and use tax that must be put toward affordable housing and supportive housing services.
“I previously acknowledged the challenges caused by the inadequate funding set aside for inclement weather sheltering. My team has worked hard to address these gaps and put forward solutions that will provide more effective and reliable shelter when it is needed most,” Mayor Brown said.
The Spokane City Council passed Special Budget Ordinance 36572 on September 23, 2023 that allocated $11.8 million to the Community, Housing and Human Services Department (CHHS) to be utilized for affordable housing capital and services projects.
In the spring of 2024, CHHS put out a Request for Proposals (RFP) to competitively bid on affordable housing services projects utilizing the eligible portion of the 1590 HEART funds and the City’s HOME ARP funds.
The RFP produced eight eligible proposals, all of which were fully funded leaving a remaining balance of $800,000 unallocated.
After discussions with Council members, stakeholders and housing providers, the Brown Administration will utilize these funds to start minor contracts to bring on additional inclement weather beds at five sites across Spokane.
These contracts will go into effect on November 1, 2024 and remain in place through December 31, 2025.
The City will fund 133 surge beds for 143 nights between The Way Out Shelter, Hope House, House of Charity, Revive and the Salvation Army’s Family Emergency Shelter.
"Longterm, the local housing dollars are an investment in building the new affordable units we need in Spokane. Short term, we need to do everything we can to prevent people from dying this winter,” said Daniel Roberts of the West Central Abbey and member of the Spokane Alliance team that supported City leaders in creating the 1590 HEART Fund. “I'm glad to see that the City is taking steps to make sure we have more robust inclement weather plans this year. We look forward to being part of the ongoing conversation to make sure that our local housing dollars go as far as possible.”