Erin Hut, Communications Director, 509.625.6740
Tuesday, August 27, 2024 at 10:32 a.m.
A new partnership between the City of Spokane and CHAS Health will help expand street medicine outreach to the local unhoused community.
Ahead of the 2024 Legislative Session, Challenge Seattle, an alliance of organizations committed to tackling some of the region's most pressing challenges, made recommendations for an emergency response to address the intersecting crises of homelessness, mental health conditions, and substance use disorders. Among those recommendations was creating street medicine teams to provide mobile treatment to people experiencing homelessness in order to avoid visits to emergency rooms and prevent further crises.
The Washington State Legislature awarded a $1 million appropriation to the City of Spokane for this purpose and on Monday, the Spokane City Council granted approval for the City to partner with CHAS to expand their existing street medicine operations.
The CHAS Health Street Medicine team provides primary care, wound care, foot care, referral coordination, resource navigation, and emergency services coordination. The new funding will go toward expanding the team’s hours of service operations.
"Our communities across the state are on the frontlines of the intersecting crises of homelessness, substance use disorder especially fentanyl, and mental health conditions. This past legislative session, a coalition came together to support new funding for street medicine, new behavioral health facilities, and the expansion of opioid treatment. As Spokane expands their street medicine program, this proven model will provide medical care and mobile treatment to avoid emergency rooms and prevent crises,” said former Governor and Challenge Seattle CEO Chris Gregoire. “I’m grateful for the continued partnership of Mayor Brown, the City of Spokane, and CHAS Health who are on the frontlines of addressing this complex crisis with solutions.”
“The CHAS Street Medicine team does incredible work and provides crucial services to those experiencing homelessness, battling substance abuse disorder, and suffering from mental health challenges in Spokane. As the City works toward better solutions for our unhoused population, it is imperative that we provide them with health care services. We are incredibly excited to partner with CHAS so they can expand the powerful work they already do,” Mayor Brown said.
"CHAS Health has always been committed to serving everyone, including our neighbors who are living unhoused. We started our street medicine program in 2021, providing primary care services at homeless shelters, in encampments, and on the sidewalk. Our street medicine team continues to build trust within these communities to establish consistent primary care, and this funding will support continuation of this important work," said Aaron Wilson, CEO of CHAS Health.
