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An elderly man stood near the off-ramp of Evergreen and Interstate 90 last week clutching a cardboard sign with words scrawled in black ink – “Homeless shelter?” The temperature outside was dipping below 20 degrees.
Ken Briggs sees people like this nearly every day and does not pass them by. He speaks with them, listens to concerns and answers questions written on cardboard. The executive director of Spokane Valley Partners – formerly Spokane Valley Community Center and Food Bank – Briggs lets panhandlers know about support services like the center’s food bank, emergency assistance and organizations like Spokane Neighborhood Action Program.
“I make sure they know what the resources are,” Briggs said.
Last week the Spokane Valley City Council debated the issue of panhandling and emerged with the idea of forming a committee that would address the reasons why people ask for money on street corners when the temperature is well below freezing.
Some city leaders, like Mayor Rich Munson, cited concerns about panhandlers causing traffic hazards. The committee will discuss this topic as well, along with how potential legislation would affect fund-raising efforts like the drive to find a cure for muscular dystrophy in which local firefighters collect money at area intersections.
Chrystal Alderman works as the lead case manager for the Homeless Outreach Team at Spokane Mental Health. For the past seven years, Alderman has worked with homeless individuals and families across Spokane County, helping them get back on their feet. When it comes to resources for the homeless in Spokane Valley, Alderman said there is work to be done.
“In the Valley, it’s pretty meager,” Alderman said.
While Spokane Valley Partners does provide emergency assistance and services like a food bank and clothing bank and help for victims of domestic violence, there is currently no full-time homeless shelter in the city. As temperatures dropped into the single digits at night this week, four facilities in downtown Spokane – Union Gospel Mission, Hope House, Crosswalk and the Salvation Army Family Emergency Center – offered warming centers. There are no such services in Spokane Valley.
“I think there’s a great deal of denial about the problem,” said Briggs, who has also worked for Community Frameworks, an organization that provides affordable housing for low-income residents. “There seems to be a lack of consensus regarding the definition of homelessness, to start.”
In regards to any disruptions caused by panhandling, Alderman said the city of Spokane police deal with issues on a case-by-case basis. Instances of aggressive panhandling or traffic hazards are rare, she added.
Throughout the U.S., research shows that around 40 percent of homeless men are military veterans. At the office of the Veterans Outreach Center on Argonne Road in Spokane Valley, Mike Ogle travels throughout the area helping veterans secure housing, medical care, legal assistance and more.
At events called “stand-downs,” Ogle and other outreach specialists arrive in a community and provide food, shelter, clothing, health screenings as well as information on employment and benefits to veterans in need. Ogle said the process of transforming a homeless person’s life takes effort and compassion.
“We identify these people and help them out,” he said. “I never know what their needs are until I talk to them.”
As for the city’s discussion about curbing panhandlers, Ogle had his own perspective.
“Nobody wants to see their problem,” he said. “What are they going to do? Hide them? The way I see it, you can either sit on the sidelines or you can get out there and help – that’s what outreach is all about.”
Spokane Valley Council Members Diana Wilhite and Bill Gothmann have both attended meetings as part of a regional task force on homelessness. The organization discusses the distribution of funds generated within Spokane County.
Gothmann, who last year donated $10,000 of his own money to support the launch of a community center in Edgecliff, said both leaders and residents in the Valley could benefit from more education on the issue of homelessness.
“The council and the community need to find out more about it,” Gothmann said. “If we’ve underestimated the problem, we need to take another look at it.”
In the office of Volunteers of America in downtown Spokane, staff members like Edie Rice-Sauer thoughtfully consider the causes and symptoms of homelessness. The list is varied – mental and physical disability, domestic violence, medical costs, substance abuse, unemployment. VOA oversees an array of programs that provide housing to the disenfranchised. Hope House provides shelter for women and children. Alexandria’s House helps single expectant mothers.
Rice-Sauer, who is also part of an effort called the Voiceless Choir, a group of homeless and formerly homeless people who sing throughout the state, said addressing the roots of homelessness is a key.
“Making rental assistance and utility assistance available is a great preventative tool,” she said. “Let’s keep folks from becoming homeless in the first place.
Also, funds for affordable housing units are a must. Have a home for someone to go where they can stabilize and become a contributing part of society.”
Like Briggs, Rice-Sauer supports an approach in which communities rally around the less fortunate. She describes how people can volunteer at shelters, donate to worthwhile causes and hand out homeless packets (consisting of items like toothbrushes, granola bars and a list of resources).
“We’re all in this together,” Rice-Sauer said. “Find a way to respond.”
The Interfaith Hospitality Network is one of several local organizations working to make a difference. A coalition of over two dozen churches, including four in the greater Spokane Valley area, the program features a day center where individuals and families can gather and find support. About half of the churches – but only one in the Valley – provide shelter services.
Alderman, who worked on a count of homeless people throughout the area this week along with representatives from other social service agencies, said she has seen how reaching out to people on the street can transform lives.
“I’ve seen some real changes,” she said. “When you help them remove those barriers, they can really be successful.”
Want to find out more?
Volunteers of America of Eastern Washington and North Idaho can be reached by calling 624-2378 or at www.voaspokane.org. Interfaith Hospitality Network can be contacted at 747-5487. Spokane Valley Partners is located at 10814 E. Broadway. The center’s main number is 927-1153. The YWCA 24-hour domestic violence help line is 326-2255.
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By
Craig Howard
