{"id":2283058,"date":"2024-06-25T08:47:02","date_gmt":"2024-06-25T12:47:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/spokane-to-approve-up-to-7-6-million-in-funding-for-homelessness-services-washington-examiner\/"},"modified":"2024-06-25T08:53:25","modified_gmt":"2024-06-25T12:53:25","slug":"spokane-to-approve-up-to-7-6-million-in-funding-for-homelessness-services-washington-examiner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/spokane-to-approve-up-to-7-6-million-in-funding-for-homelessness-services-washington-examiner\/","title":{"rendered":"Spokane to approve up to $7.6 million in funding for homelessness services &#8211; Washington Examiner"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">30<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fspokane-to-approve-up-to-7-6-million-in-funding-for-homelessness-services-washington-examiner%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2283058&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Officials in Spokane are \u200dset to\u200d potentially approve up to $7.6 million in grants aimed at addressing the city&#8217;s homelessness\u200d crisis. This decision comes after extensive\u2064 discussions among local homeless service providers and\u200c Spokane&#8217;s Community, Housing, and Human Services Department (CHHS). Initially, there were concerns\u2062 about the potential unintended impacts of the recommendations on\u200b Spokane&#8217;s homeless services network. Following these concerns, the RFP Committee\u200b reassessed the applications with new insights, leading to revised funding recommendations.<\/p>\n<p>The proposed funding will support a variety of services including \u200bemergency \u200cshelters, diversion, and street outreach programs, with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/biden-admin-funds-program-linking-republican-party-to-neo-nazis\/\" title=\"Biden funds program linking GOP to neo-Nazis.\">grant amounts ranging<\/a> from $40,000 to $3.5 million. It&#8217;s critical that the \u2064<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/hero-pay-ca-cities-demand-pay-raise-for-grocery-workers-then-stores-close\/\" title=\"\u2018Hero Pay\u2019: CA Cities Demand Pay Raise For Grocery Workers. Then Stores Close.\">city council approve<\/a> these appropriations for contracts to commence by July 1. There are still undecided amendments that might alter the funding by as\u200b much as $3 million.<\/p>\n<p>One notable amendment from Councilmember \u200cMichael Cathcart proposes a more conservative allocation of $5.8 million and excludes funding for Catholic Charities,\u200d which operates the House of Charity shelter. On the other spectrum, Councilmember Lili Navarrete has proposed amendments to fully utilize the $7.65 million, including funding for \u2063Catholic Charities and Goodwill,\u200d but includes a resolution to disapprove a $120,000 award to the Salvation Army, which operates \u200bthe city&#8217;s largest shelter, Trent Shelter. These decisions are crucial for the continued support and management of homelessness services in Spokane.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>(The Center Square)\u00a0\u2013 Spokane officials are expected to approve up to $7.6 million in grants Monday night, deploying another round of funding toward the city\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/newsoms-trip-to-china-to-discuss-climate-change-filled-with-controversy\/\" title=\"Controversy surrounds Newsom's China trip on climate change.\">ongoing homelessness crisis<\/a>. <\/p>\n<p>The decision follows months of back and forth between local homeless providers and Spokane\u2019s Community, Housing, and Human Services Department, or CHHS. <\/p>\n<p>Spokane issued a Request for Proposals last fall that solicited 36 applications but raised concerns over potential consequences. Advocates and providers noted that the initial recommendations could have unintended impacts on the local homeless services network, leading the RFP Committee to revisit the applications with additional insight. <\/p>\n<p>Since then, the CHHS Board issued a new list of recommendations, with the proposed awards ranging from $40,000 to $3.5 million. The funding will go toward propping up emergency shelters around the city and providing other services such as diversion and street outreach.<\/p>\n<p>The goal is to award the funding so that contracts can start by July 1; however, that can only happen if the appropriations are approved by the city council Monday night. Meanwhile, four amendments remain on the table, which could mean the difference between $3 million in funding. <\/p>\n<p>Councilmember Michael Cathcart\u2019s proposal is the most conservative, awarding only $5.8 million instead of the total amount. His amendment also withholds funding to Catholic Charities, which runs a local shelter called House of Charity. <\/p>\n<p>Catholic Charities has been the center of controversy a few times over the years; however, a recent city council <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thecentersquare.com\/washington\/article_db79d6a4-0ef3-11ef-8f6d-c3e389b35c86.html\">proposal to move its shelter less than a mile down the road<\/a><\/strong> has everyone talking about the provider again.<\/p>\n<p>On the other end of the spectrum, Councilmember Lili Navarrete raised three amendments with only slight differences between each. Her proposals spend the full amount but award funding to Catholic Charities and add in Goodwill at $3.7 million, for an approximate total of $7.65 million. <\/p>\n<p>However, one of Navarrete\u2019s amendments also includes a separate resolution formally disapproving a $120,000 award to the Salvation Army. The organization operates Spokane\u2019s Trent Shelter, which is the largest in the city.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCity Council does not approve of multi-year awards for many of the grants,\u201d the resolution states, \u201cespecially to the extent a class of grants depends on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/president-trump-please-pardon-jon-woods-a-victim-of-process-crimes-like-michael-flynn\/\" title=\"President Trump, Please Pardon Jon Woods, a Victim of Process Crimes Like Michael Flynn\">general fund<\/a> allocations that may need to be revisited in light of the continuing financial distress.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>Spokane is decommissioning its Trent Shelter to move toward <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/my.spokanecity.org\/news\/releases\/2024\/05\/13\/shelter-audit-points-toward-scattered-site-model\/\">Mayor Lisa Brown\u2019s new scattered site model<\/a><\/strong>; however, the effort could cost up to $8 million, while the city has already paid the organization <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thecentersquare.com\/washington\/article_ae4beae4-121f-11ef-ba65-9b05e518dc07.html\"><strong>roughly $10 million to operate the shelter<\/strong>.<\/a> <\/p>\n<p>Earlier this month, Brown declared a <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thecentersquare.com\/washington\/article_27ad3214-2501-11ef-afcc-97f6b8266c56.html\">state of emergency over Spokane\u2019s opioid crisis<\/a><\/strong> and immediately entered contracts with several providers. The move allowed her to reopen shelters and streamline funding without going through the RFP process. <\/p>\n<p>The initial investments were made using opioid settlement funds that the city was awarded for participating in ongoing litigation. However, Brown can also spend other funds nearly unilaterally despite the city\u2019s $50 million deficit. <\/p>\n<p>While much of that deficit lies in the city\u2019s general fund, which encompasses roughly 21% of Spokane\u2019s $1.2 billion budget, Brown can still redirect funds to and from other areas.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPursuant to [Spokane Municipal Code] 7.06.180, the Mayor or her [delegate] may make emergency procurements consistent with the provisions of Chapter 7.06, \u2026 so long as such contracts or procurements do not commit general fund dollars or funds received by the City under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021,\u201d according to the <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/static.spokanecity.org\/documents\/citycouncil\/study-sessions\/agendas\/2024\/06\/ccstdy-agenda-2024-06-06.pdf\">resolution<\/a><\/strong> ratifying Brown\u2019s declaration.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Spokane officials are set to approve $7.6 million in grants to address the city&#8217;s homelessness crisis. This decision comes after extensive discussions between local homeless providers and the Community, Housing, and Human Services Department (CHHS)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2283059,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/AP24014160623172-1-1024x683.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[538],"tags":[4886,6513,32586,32585,32076],"class_list":["post-2283058","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-washington-examiner","tag-approval","tag-funding","tag-homelessness-services","tag-spokane","tag-washington-examiner"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/AP24014160623172-1-1024x683.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2283058","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2283058"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2283058\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2283059"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2283058"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2283058"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2283058"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}