SPOKANE, Wash. — The tenth annual Spokane Homeless Connect has been postponed until Tuesday, March 1, 2022, due to "skyrocketing COVID cases", according to a release from the organization.
The Spokane Homeless Connect is a subcommittee of the Spokane Homeless Coalition, an organization that serves those experiencing homelessness in Spokane County.
The meeting was originally scheduled for Jan. 27, 2022, but officials announced on Tuesday that the meeting has been postponed due to the surge in COVID-19 cases in Spokane County.
“We planned every precaution we could to ensure everyone’s safety, from expanding social distancing to mask requirements to limiting the number of people in the building at any one time and more,” said Kari Stevens, Chair of the Connect Organizing Committee. "But these skyrocketing COVID cases, which aren’t expected to peak before the end of the month, are simply something we can’t overcome. It’s just too dangerous for our guests and our service providers.”
Stevens said the committee has been working with Spokane Regional Health District (SRHD) to develop guidelines for their meeting. After a meeting with SRHD last Thursday, Stevens said the health district recommended the meeting be postponed.
"We genuinely appreciate the empathy of SRHD toward our homeless community," Stevens said in a statement. "They didn’t want to postpone any more than we did. But we all realized that there simply wasn’t a better alternative.”
According to Stevens, the Homeless Connect Organizing Committee made the decision with the safety of attendees top of mind.
The meeting is now set to be held on Tuesday, March 1.