Mayor Nadine Woodward issued the following statement regarding statements made today by the state departments of Commerce and Transportation:
“First, and most importantly, the discussion we are having as a community is about public health and safety. The City-led plan brought together Spokane County and Spokane Valley with many other community partners to develop a plan in 30 days to move 650 people out of a state-owned field and into a safe, healthy, and humane environment. That includes recommendations on turnkey projects that will be ready within weeks to move people who are assessed to be ready into a space other than emergency drop-in options.
The plan is focused on the health and safety of those living in the encampment on state property and those impacted by the activity the state has allowed for the past several months. The ideas are not all perfect, but they consider all perspectives and what is best for the community, including the lives of those in the camp.
We are committed to doing what is best to get individuals connected to the services and supports they need to improve their current living conditions and take the next steps in their journeys. It is a journey and there are as many individual solutions as there are stories.
Misstatements from Olympia about Spokane’s shelter system distract from the work that needs to get done quickly to move people from an unhealthy environment exposed to the elements into a sheltered opportunity. On Tuesday, we will open the Trent Resource and Assistance Center. It is another example of the many additions the City has made to the regional system while working with the community.
The City made a strategic decision during the early days of the pandemic to continue meeting the needs of those who were homeless in our community, which was a departure from what others around the state were doing. That decision to put the health of everyone in our community first required a series of moves to accommodate physical distancing culminating with The Way Out Center. The Way Out Center took in individuals from the City-owned Cannon Street shelter and another nonprofit shelter when the need arose to create additional footprint, not individual capacity. Those individuals eventually returned to spots that were vacated during the pandemic due to distancing requirements and previously planned construction.
The City never removed the protest in front of City Hall. Organizers made the decision to move to state property after the City noticed a cleaning to removed debris and human waste from the sidewalks. That process, which occurs regularly throughout the city, involves water and cleaning solutions and needs to be completed outside of the immediate presence of humans.
Engagement is ongoing about how best to meet the ongoing needs of everyone in our community with public health and safety at the center of those conversations. At the request of the West Hills neighborhood, I was asked to invite Commerce to join us in a follow-up meeting with the neighborhood. While the neighbors indicated a willingness to do their part, we heard passionate concerns and questions about how much of the burden they would potentially carry.
Enhancements to our system to meet the needs of those camping on state property and beyond is a continuous process that requires local and state partnership, and we are committed to working together to implement the region’s collective plan. We look forward to answers from Commerce regarding the request from the neighborhood to meet and to our plan to connect people to much-needed services that will improve their current situation before too much more time slips away.”
