The Spokane City Council passed an ordinance on Monday night allocating roughly a quarter of a million dollars of funding for warming shelters in the city.
More than $250,000 will go toward staffing a new warming shelter for homeless young adults ages 18 to 24 at Westminster United Church of Christ. More than $16,000 will fund an existing warming shelter at Salem Lutheran Church, which opened earlier this month.
Salem Lutheran Church houses about 60 men and women and is one of the newest warming shelter contracts with the City of Spokane. The church’s gym floor is covered with mats, and homeless residents receive snacks and water.
The city council's decision comes after homeless residents camped out in front of city hall for weeks to protests the lack of adequate shelter space in Spokane. In late November, demonstrators set up about a dozen tents in front of city hall. In response, the city approved more beds for homeless residents.
The city council also passed a resolution 5-1 on Monday looking at a long-term solution to homelessness. The resolution requests $2 million dollars already in the budget be specifically allocated to a variety of affordable housing solutions.
Resolutions are non-binding. They are essentially declarations of the council's intentions.
Some people expressed concerns about moving forward without further public input, including homeless advocate Alfredo Llamedo.
"You had two meetings so far. You got two more to go and I think that this should be put off until those meetings are complete, all the public input is in and people can decide,” Llamedo said at the meeting on Monday.
A wide swatch of people – including those who are currently homeless, residents with housing vouchers and landlords – asked questions about which programs would benefit.
The city of Spokane's 2018 Regional point-in-time count found there are more than 1,200 people experiencing homelessness in the city. In July, the City of Spokane plans to open a new 24/7 shelter.