Ending Homelessness

H.O.M.E. Starts Here

The H.O.M.E. Starts Here Initiative creates a unified strategy for the City of Spokane to meaningfully address the complex factors that contribute to housing instability and homelessness.

This plan emerged from City leaders' recognition of the need for a city-wide guiding plan that focuses on healthcare, outreach, multidisciplinary engagement, economic stability and where these areas intersect. The ordinance executes a comprehensive cross-departmental, data-driven, and evidence-based approach targeting these four areas to achieve housing stability, reduce and prevent homelessness, and ensure public health and safety.

This plan establishes key indicators of success:

• Reducing the number of Spokane residents who are housing cost-burdened
• Growing the median household income
• Adding new housing units at all income levels
• Expanding homeownership rates
• Increasing the percentage of people who have access to healthcare

• Inclement Weather, Siting, and Good Neighbor Agreements

  The Spokane City Council passed an additional ordinance to codify best practices for siting and activating inclement weather centers, as well as emergency and transitional housing facilities. This ordinance:

  • Changes requirements for inclement weather activation to an index measure
  • Codifies community engagement and neighborhood notice requirements for any City-funded shelters with more than 20 beds
  • Requires and outlines a process for "Good Neighbor" agreements between the City of Spokane and shelter providers

  View Spokane Municipal Code:

  • ORD C36692 Section 1
  • ORD C36692 Section 2
  • ORD C36692 Section 3
  • ORD C36692 Section 4
  • ORD C36692 Section 5

• Engagement and Enforcement

  This ordinance consolidates the intent of existing laws of disorder and unauthorized camping into single, unified policy. This proposal:

  • Ensures everyone has access to public property and rights-of-way by regulating the conduct of people knowingly obstructing access
  • Prohibits unauthorized camping
  • Prioritizes engagement subject to enforcement by connecting people to evidence-based navigation services
  • Provides law enforcement a clear and more consistent enforcement mechanism
  View Proposed Ordinance