Brigid's Cloak - Spokane Homeless Outreach

02/16/2026

PSA info from the Homeless Coalition and my phone call to the HNC today on changes effective tomorrow Feb 17 regarding access to House of Charity and inclement weather emergency beds. Individuals will no longer line up at HOC in the evenings.

Catholic Charities is launching a new partnership between House of Charity (HoC) and the Housing Navigation Center (HNC) to improve coordination and reduce outdoor waiting for shelter access in Spokane. Starting Tuesday, February 17, 2026, HoC will shift to a referral-based intake system through the HNC, which will also provide transportation and expanded support services. (See attachment)

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Info from my phone call to the HNC:

>> The Housing Navigation Center is open 365 days a year from 8:30am to 5:30pm, including holidays.

>> After 5:30pm, check the Shelter Me website for available beds at sheltermespokane.org then call the organization directly to verify availability and access.

>> Currently, as of Feb 16, the emergency surge beds are in effect for inclement Weather consitions.

>> The HNC is located at 527 S Cannon Street 365 days a year with exception of one or two special event days where they might be located at an event such as Homeless Connect.

>> There is an emergency shelter at The Way Out at 55 W Mission on the corner of Mission and Atlantic. Advance lining up outside the building is not allowed. If the Shelter Me portal shows available beds, arrive at 7pm for entry. The phone number on the portal might not be current as an announcement was made that Gerianne has moved on from Salvation Army.

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Key Points
New Partnership: House of Charity will now accept referrals directly from the Housing Navigation Center.

Start Date: Changes begin February 17, 2026.

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New Intake Process:

Individuals will no longer line up outside HoC in the evenings.

HoC intake hours shift to 12:00 PM daily.

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Transportation: HNC will coordinate transportation for individuals going to HoC for intake.

Edited to add: for weekends, a bus pass will be provided due to the Navigation center's transportation operating only Mon-Fri.

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Services at HNC:

Food, restrooms, showers

Mental health services

Addiction treatment

Housing placement support

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HNC Location & Hours:

527 S. Cannon Street, Spokane, WA 99201

(509) 507-4624

Open daily 8:30 AM–5:30 PM

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Important Notes:

Respite and Law Enforcement/First Responder beds are not affected.

Inclement Weather Beds (when activated) will also be filled through this partnership.

Community partners should stop sending clients directly to House of Charity for open beds and instead refer them to the HNC.

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Contact for Questions:

Oksana Zakharchenko

509-455-3031

[email protected]

Regional shelter providers input nightly availability data to update community on open beds.

01/23/2025

Reminder for today, Thursday, January 23 2025.

HOMELESS CONNECT is this morning starting at 10am until 3pm.

At the convention center = 202 W Spokane Falls Blvd

Free admission!

Services include:
> hot meal
> clothing + food banks
> warrant assistance + other legal services
> hair cuts
> showers
> veterinary care for pets
> DSHS
> family services
> veteran services
> health services
> housing serices
and more!

12/19/2024

Please note that the Spokane Homeless Memorial this year will be held today, December 19 instead of the traditional December 21 date.

CHAS SPOKANE HOMELESS MEMORIAL
Thursday, December 19, 2024
11am to 12:30pm
At: Denny Murphy Clinic, 1001 W. 2nd Ave.

On December 19, 2024, CHAS Health will hold a homeless memorial. This event will be held to honor the lives of those without a home that have died over the last year. This event will also serve as an opportunity to spread awareness about the struggles and challenges those who experience homelessness face on a continual basis.

Please join in celebrating the lives of those who have passed. A warm meal and refreshments will be served.

10/26/2024

November Event Info from Spokane Homeless Coalition notices:

No Place To Grow Old film screening
Thursday, Nov 14 at 6pm
Woldson Coughlin Theater at 211 E Desmet Ave

Hello, Spokane Homeless Coalition--

Gonzaga University is hosting a screening of No Place to Grown Old on November 14 in the Woldson Coughlin Theater from 6-7:30pm. The event will be open to the public, and all tickets are complimentary.

This 44-minute documentary explores the systemic challenges and deeply personal stories of a generation aging into homelessness via an intimate portrait of homeless seniors in Portland, Oregon.

Directed by Davey Schaupp and produced by Humans for Housing.
Michael Larson is Gonzaga alumni and director of Humans for Housing. During his senior year in 2021, he led the Humanizing Spokane activist group, producing a film about the Spokane area housing crisis and related impact on the homeless community. He will introduce the new film and take questions following the screening.

Please help us share this opportunity with your network and join us on November 14.

Send a message to learn more

08/19/2024

Can't speak highly enough about the Smith Barbieri Progressive Fund and all they do to create Beloved Community.

We were recently told that “vagrants don’t need enabling”.

In context, this was a conversation about providing assistance - food, water and access to resources - to houseless persons. Specifically, the individual was pushing back against us and our efforts to help others.

To be clear - “vagrant” is a word that has long been hateful in our society. The individual who used it in discussion with us meant it as hateful expression of a person who is experiencing homelessness. We disagree with the use of the term as a description of any person.

“Enabling” has become a funny word. It is consistently misconstrued to be used in place of “helping” or “providing assistance” to become/stay healthy while simultaneously insinuating it is something that shouldn’t be done because it is harmful.

To be clear - providing assistance and helping - makes a fundamental difference in the life of a houseless person who has lost everything and experiencing the worst days of their life. Outreach begins as an effort to support human survival and is often what gets the individual to the next steps of getting off the streets.

We do not judge anyone. We will stand up everyday and help those who need a hand to take the next steps forward. We lend the hand without expectation in return. We lend the hand understanding the size of steps people take will be different - some will take baby steps, some will leap forward, and some will need a hand several times before they are able to take that first step.

Not everyone agrees with us. Fine. We aren’t here for those people. We are here to do what we can to help the most vulnerable in our community. We won’t apologize for that or change our path.

08/15/2024

Lerris Schuh, of Smith Barbieri Progressive Fund shares her experience with river outreach. Thank you for all you do in our community. 💗

08/15/2024

How does this keep happening, year after year? This is how we ended up with the original Camp Hope at City Hall in Nov 2018, when the city shut down House of Charity that September.

The math isn't mathing, city of Spokane.

According to the article, Trent accommodates 300. This ignores the winter emergency expanded capacity, which has been over 400. But whatever.

The scattered site model will provide 5 to 8 smaller shelters for 20 to 30 people. This means between (5x20) 100 to (8x30) 240 people.

Where do the rest of the 60-200+ people go?

The scattered site model requires an assessment process. Where do people go for low barrier emergency shelter, as required by city ordinance?

I'm so disappointed that once again we are heading into winter with plans to decommission the major emergency shelter in September and completely inadequate (zero plans) to shelter the majority of people already using that shelter.

It is a violation of city ordinance to reduce the number of emergency shelter beds without replacing them, if the shelter is at capacity. So your solution around this is to reduce the bed numbers in September, when the weather is fair and shelter is less in demand, knowing the harsh winter weather just around the corner will push more people to seek emergency shelter but the doors will be closed? That's immoral. It's wrong. The rising numbers of lost digits and deaths this winter will be on your heads, city of Spokane. You are on notice.

SPOKANE, Wash. -- The City of Spokane is moving forward with the plan to replace its largest shelter with multiple smaller shelters around the city.

03/28/2024

Here's a survey invitation from the city of spokane: An emergency shelter is a place for people to live temporarily when they cannot live in their previous residence. The City of Spokane is seeking input from citizens throughout the region and stakeholder groups on how you are affected and what services you would like to see offered. Information gathered from this survey will be used to inform future approaches to emergency shelters. This survey will close on Monday, April 1.