2/1/2023
####################################################
The Spokesman-Review
Americans are losing key food subsidy as prices get higher
Letter to the Editor: Failed leadership
KHQ
KXLY
The Center Square
RangeMedia
####################################################
Americans are losing key food subsidy as prices get higher
Enhanced benefits for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, which played a key role in relieving poverty during the COVID-19 pandemic, are ending in February.
Americans are losing key food subsidy as prices get higher
By Kelsey Butler and Molly Smith BLOOMBERG NEWS
As the cost of living in the U.S. has gone up, government subsidies to help people pay for basics have disappeared one-by-one. Up next on the chopping block: Emergency allotments of a food-assistance program that supports 30 million Americans living in 32 states.
Enhanced benefits for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, are ending in February, meaning families and individuals will get at least $95 less per month, with some seeing cuts of $250-a-month or more. Households with kids will, on average, lose out on an extra $223 each month, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Pri-orities, a nonpartisan research and policy institute. As of early February, New Jersey was the only state that had plans to top up benefits for its residents as the federal program winds down.
Through SNAP, low-income families and individuals receive cash benefits loaded onto a card that can be used to buy groceries at authorized stores. The cuts will hit as inflation continues to send food prices in the U.S. to new highs. Though there are signs that inflation has peaked, food prices were up 10.1% in January from a year ago. A dozen eggs now cost more than a pound of ground beef – for the first time on record.
Americans have slowly seen pandemic-era benefits disappear over the last year and a half. A fewmonths after expanded unemployment benefits ended, extended child tax credits went away, too. Universal free school lunch got cut last fall. Next month, families receiving benefits under the Women, Infants, and Children, or WIC, program, will no longer be able to use waivers to buy baby formula from different manufacturers, instead of just the one their state is contracted with.
All this has hit low-in-come Americans, who rely most on government support, particularly hard just as the price of just about everything has spiked in the last year.
A bounty of government cash helped alleviate economic inequality in the U.S. during the early years of the pandemic. A 2022 study found the emergency allotments kept 4.2 million people above the poverty line in the last quarter of 2021, cutting poverty by 10%. Declines were highest for Black and Latino Americans, both populations that typically have higher rates of food insecurity as is. Almost 4 million children were lifted out of poverty because of monthly payments to families.
As that government stimulus has disappeared, poverty and food insecurity have rebounded. Data from the U.S. Census Bureau showed 11.2% of adults said they sometimes or often didn’t have enough to eat in January, compared to 9.8% in April and May 2020. Separate figures from the Urban Institute estimate roughly one in five U.S. adults experienced food insecurity in the middle of 2022 when inflation peaked, rebounding to the share reported during the early days of the pandemic.
In 18 states, enhanced SNAP benefits already expired, offering a preview of what’s to come nationwide. Propel, a tech company that surveys SNAP users monthly, found that those living in states without the extra benefits were more likely to skip meals, eat less or rely on others for food than those that still had the boost in place.
LTE: Failed leadership
Could someone please teach Nadine Woodward the meaning of the word “collaboration?” Fortunately for Spokane, there is a breadth of knowledgeable and insightful leaders who not only offer solutions but are willing to put forth the work while addressing two serious issues, Camp Hope and policing reform.
Instead of working with these people, our mayor employs an obstructionist approach that has been an abysmal failure. She thumbs her nose at those who have the skills and knowledge to move people out of Camp Hope and who are working toward long-term solutions.
Instead, she sends the police to harass the residents and threatens the agencies doing the hard work at both the local and state level.
Today, as a result of the work of these good people, Camp Hope’s population continues to shrink. None of this is the result of anything she has done, but I’m confident she will be there to take credit. In the meantime, she continues “to study” the issue. Currently under her leadership, police reform talks between community leaders and the police have fallen apart. She stood next to our police chief and said she was sorry that efforts had failed. What did she do to encourage people to stay at the table? Where was her advocacy for the citizens who were asking to be heard? Instead, she rushed to cancel the latest meeting with no effort to clarify the wishes of the disillusioned groups. Where is her leadership? So far, I haven’t seen any.
Joan Jamison Spokane
####################################################
KHQ
SPOKANE, Wash. - A Marine veteran living in Hillyard has been given a 14-day notice by the city to vacate his RV, his home for the past seven years.
Stephen Wright found a letter from Spokane Neighborhood Services and Code Enforcement in his mailbox on Thursday morning, citing him for three violations: having a vehicle parked in the front yard, exterior storage and living in a RV.
"The use of a Recreation Vehicle (RV) is only permitted for 15 days a year," the letter said. "After that time period the use of an RV must cease. The RV on your property shows evidence of being used as a living space."
According to Wright, he’s been living in the RV on his brother’s property after a string of thefts took place. In exchange for keeping watch and paying for utilities, Wright’s brother allows him to live in his RV on the property. However, the land is zoned for single-family residential use, which does not allow this type of arrangement.
"Here I am, seven years of being a guard dog and now they want me to get the hell out of here," Wright said.
According to Kirstin Davis, communications manager for Spokane Public Works and Community & Economic Development, the 14-day period is a voluntary compliance timeline, meaning the property owner has that amount of time to attempt to make progress towards fixing the violations. If Wright shows progress, he could be granted an extension, but failure to comply could result in heavier punishments, such as fines that would be levied on the property owner, his brother.
For now, Wright is unmoved.
"I’m not going anywhere," he said.
####################################################
KXLY
SPOKANE, Wash. -- Camp Hope is the face of homelessness in Spokane, and new photos and data show the camp is shrinking in size and population.
20 people moved out since last week, and 108 people are still living on the state-owned land. Now Spokane County is looking at a more collaborative approach to ending homelessness.
During a study session Thursday morning, Spokane City council heard from Gavin Cooley, former city CFO, about kicking off a regional homeless effort throughout the county.
It was just a discussion, with the hopes they can soon work with all surrounding cities to tackle homelessness under one roof. The city of Spokane has been working on ways to address homelessness for years, and this new approach would bring the entire county to the table.
"An independent entity that would be kind of an umbrella with all the funding and the resources and the service providers and the stakeholders all under one roof," said Nadine Woodward, Spokane Mayor.
Once those discussions are complete, and agreed upon, the county will hopefully form a Regional Homelessness Authority that includes Spokane, Spokane Valley, and the rest of Spokane County.
"We need to get to a point where we decide what type of structure that we want this to look like, what it will be modeled after bringing all the stakeholders together, we need to fill some of the gaps," Woodward added.
Another detail that needs to be ironed out is the money.
"Right now there's several different funding sources administered by different jurisdictions, and they're not coordinated, there's duplication. And so we need to just cut through all that to be more effective," said city council President Breean Beggs.
Originally, Thursday's city council study session was going to end in a vote about the details of this housing authority, but Beggs said that some council members felt that would be too rushed. Now, they will take a vote on February 27th.
The Spokane City Council needs to be the first entity to approve anything before the County or Spokane Valley will.
The Spokane Valley City Council will discuss its potential participation in this effort during their study session on February 21st, and may vote on that involvement on the 28th.
Emily Estes-Cross, Spokesperson for the Valley City Council tells 4 News Now they are welcome to discussions about collaboration and a regional approach, but haven't officially decided to join.
She wrote that they "see homelessness as both a regional and localized issue. While we’re considering benefits and efficiencies that could accompany collaboration beyond our city limits, we’re also continuing to develop our own homeless plan and approach."
Spokane Valley is also looking for feedback on it's DRAFT Homeless Action Plan at an open house on Wednesday, March 8th from 4-6 pm at Center Place Event Center, 2426 N. Discovery Pl.
You can find a link to the plan here. Written input will also be accepted by email to erobison@spokanevalley.org by March 10, 2023.
####################################################
The Center Square
A large homeless camp has been set up on state Department of Transportation land along East Second Avenue in Spokane. Called “Camp Hope," the site has drawn 400 to 500 people. Spokane County has been offered $24.3 million by the state Department of Commerce to relocate people from the camp to shelters and other locations.
(The Center Square) – The City of Spokane Valley is holding an open house to get community feedback on the draft version of its Homeless Action Plan.
The goal of the Action Plan is threefold: to “[prevent] homelessness from occurring where possible, [reduce] current levels of homelessness, and [improve] the quality of life of residents, including those experiencing homelessness.”
The introduction calls the plan a “living document” that will “need to be updated to reflect the changing landscape of homelessness.” The current data landscape is showing that limited government interventions are having some good effects in preempting homelessness, the report argues.
“Data from Spokane’s Centralized Diversion Fund show an average cost of $1,800 per intervention for the period from November 1, 2021 to September 30, 2022. Additionally, 87% of those who accessed the CDF were still housed six months after receiving assistance,” the document states.
Diversion and Rental Assistance are programs that “seek to keep people in their homes or to help them get into housing quickly by providing one-time assistance that addresses an immediate barrier to housing,” thus preventing those on the brink from becoming homeless.
In contrast, the data currently shows efforts to address the problem after shelter has been withdrawn to be more expensive and less effective.
In contrast to that $1,800 per intervention, data from the Washington Department of Commerce shows “the average cost for either rapid re-housing or transitional shelter intervention, at an average of $8,144 and $17,500 per person” respectively, in 2021 dollars.
Moreover, more people may be close to homelessness than is commonly assumed.
One survey sent out by The Zone, a community initiative in the neighborhoods of northeast Spokane, “received over 1,100 responses, 47% of respondents owe back rent, 75% say they are struggling to pay rent now or in the near future, and 56% have already received eviction notices,” the report states.
This is a problem that could become more acute in the future, with the rise in property values of the last few years, turning more people into renters who are less secure in their shelters.
Tom Hormell of the Washington Association of Realtors estimates that at the 2022 Spokane County median home price of $422,250, “only 7% of wage earners in the Spokane area are able to afford purchasing a home.”
Community members are encouraged to reach out with feedback, and attend the meeting if possible.
The meeting will take place on Wednesday, March 8 from 4 to 6 pm at the Center Place Event Center. Written community feedback will also be accepted until March 10, 2023.
More information is available at the City of Spokane Valley website.
####################################################
RangeMedia
Carl Segerstrom
(Photo by Carl Segerstrom)
Timothy Morgan’s story shows the evolution of Camp Hope.
Last summer, at the height of a crushing heat wave, Timothy Morgan was putting out fires at Camp Hope. Triple digit heat had people on edge and Morgan was the go-to security staff for conflict resolution as residents fumed over rampant theft in the camp.
As summer faded into fall, and temperatures and tensions at Camp Hope slowly but steadily fell, Morgan’s work evolved. In late October, he left his job working security for Crowd Management Services (CMS) and joined Revive Counseling as a peer counselor and housing support specialist. Revive provides counseling, peer support and housing services at both Camp Hope and the Trent Shelter. Morgan’s story follows the evolution of the encampment from a chaotic environment where staff and volunteers were just trying to keep people alive, to a launching point for people exiting homelessness.
Camp Hope isn’t the teeming city block of endless commotion and kinetic energy it once was. Things are more orderly now. The population has fallen from above 600 to around 100 people. As RVs and tons of garbage are removed from the lot, the perimeter fences have steadily shrunk. And even with less space, there’s more room between tents and RVs. New security protocols check people coming and going to make sure they belong in the camp. The large cooling tent that was hurriedly built to provide shelter from the heat last summer is now a hub for resources where meals, clothes, medical care and case management are all offered.
Morgan originally began working at the camp because he felt like he had something to offer to the people living there. “I was driving by, I saw a guy in a blue and white shirt and I wanted to know what he was doing. I stopped and talked to him and he was a security guard for CMS,” Morgan told RANGE last summer. “I joined CMS to become security for [Camp Hope] specifically, because I thought it would benefit the city and these people the most.”
Morgan believed he could help because he’d been where those camp residents were. “I've lived that life. I've been homeless. I've been without. I've slept in my car. I've done it,” Morgan said. “I've been through rough-ended situations that didn't seem like they had an end or a way out.”
Over the course of his time working security, Morgan said he was able to gain the trust of people living in the encampment. He said it wasn’t always easy, and that at moments there was friction, “but, slowly it's been coming together and I've gained a lot of respect from a lot of people.”
Today, Morgan isn’t busting up fights or tracking down stolen goods. In his new role with Revive, he’s helping people find permanent places to live in the greater Spokane community. Morgan’s consistent, on-the-ground presence at the encampment has given him a unique perspective on how the community has changed and services offered at the camp have evolved. This week, RANGE caught up with Morgan to learn more about how his work and the camp itself has changed.
The following conversation has been edited for length and clarity.
RANGE: How has your experience changed now that you’re working with Revive instead of working security for CMS?
Timothy Morgan: It's definitely been a mind-altering circumstance for me moving from being with CMS, and being the one who puts out the fires and eliminates the arguments or the threats of guns, drugs, violence what have you — to being on the opposite end of that, not being so concerned about that as much as I am towards getting them housed, making sure they have a friend, a warm meal, somebody they could talk to, and establishing communication and a way towards permanent housing goals.
It's insane the difference and the duties that I have from then ‘til now. There's a lot more paperwork behind it now, but… for me it’s better to be out here on the field trying to help them gain permanent housing, gain permanent employment, and move forward with their life than it was for me just to watch and provide for their safety.
We're all growing in this. It's teaching us [all] a lot. I get a lot of fulfillment being out here. I get that fulfillment of being able to see them even one step higher in their process. I think there's a lot of self-gratification and gratification in the people that I'm working with.
RANGE: Where are people going as they move on from the encampment?
TM: We're doing amazing things. We're actually opening up a new home. I think it's going to be on Monday.
It'll hold eight men and we're going to open up another couple's home, hopefully by the end of the month. Our numbers are dwindling to down under 100 people here.
I think we have anywhere between eight and 15 move-ins this week just to the Catalyst [Catholic Charities transitional housing project in West Hills] alone. Come Monday, we'll have the move-ins into the men's home.
The weather's warming up. People are really wanting to start getting up and motivated and moving towards getting out of here.
RANGE: What is the main focus of your work now?
TM: Obviously our main goal is to get people out of the encampment — that is our primary goal. Whether they go to Catalyst, whether to go to the Trent shelter and work with one of our housing or employment specialists down there… our ultimate goal is to get people out of here and motivated enough to get into a more stable environment.
If they're at Catalyst, if they're at the Trent Shelter, if they're in transitional homes, they're a lot easier and a lot more motivated to work with because they feel a lot more comfortable — they're cleaner, they have warmth, they're not as agitated, they're not as agro.
It does promote a lot more stability as far as getting them into the next step of housing.
RANGE: What are the challenges facing the people still living at the camp?
TM: One is warrants. I've gotten four warrants squashed this week. That means taking people down to get warrants recalled and get new court dates set up.
It’s unnerving for the people inside the camp, because they're the ones who have to go through the hardest part, which is being accountable. We take them down, we go stand in front of the counter and it takes about 15 minutes. They stipulate on paper the reason why they missed the court date, whether it's because of the fact they live in camp and didn't have proper transportation during the time, or weren’t well. For most people it's as simple as that, just showing up.
There are more serious things like failing to provide a new address change due to being on a sex offense charge. Those are a little more trying, but we [try to help them] as well.
RANGE: Do you think that everybody will be able to get housed some way or another?
TM: Some of the people still here [have chosen not to engage] in services with CAT (Compassionate Addiction Treatment), with Jewels (Helping Hands) and with Revive due to whatever circumstances they may have.
I would like to call it institutionalization, but instead of it being in an institution format, it's institutionalization based upon housing. They've been homeless for so long that they don't know anything else. They don't feel comfortable with anything else. They don't want anything else.
So, there is a big, fundamental part of that within this group. A majority of the rest [of impediments to housing] have to do with the charges they're facing, whether they're running away from warrants or whether they have sex offenses. That's a priority to deal with, but it's also the hardest group to deal with because of the fact that based on the social environment and the standards that we have in our society, they're the hardest people to house because they come with the most challenges.
I think that at the end of this, we're going to have our select few that just no matter what you do, they don't want it. It's just not part of who they are as an individual anymore. And we're going to have to succumb to the fact that that is part of the end game. We're going to have those individuals who are going to be like that, and … they're just going to have to move down the road because it's what they want.
So, there are going to be those people and I think we're looking at probably — I don't know — 40 of them or so. But, we'll see what happens. I think a big part of it is just being able to engage and let them feel safe with the fact that somebody's here for them. And, maybe we can drop that number to zero. Who knows? Only time will tell.
We are looking towards reunification into society with every single individual in here and if we can create that — absolutely fucking amazing. Sorry for the language. If we can't, we'll continue working with them and continuing to strive for success for every individual that remains in this camp.
RANGE: What are your overall thoughts on how this camp and community has evolved?
TM: From the beginning when this place was nothing but 55 people trying to prove a point to what it turned into over summer and the violent acts and the renegades and nobody having laws and being a lawless community — to where it is now, where there's reform, there's fences, check-ins, badges, we're dwindling to the end of it. It's definitely been an interesting concept to watch from the beginning to the end and seeing how it's turned out.
I don't hold any regrets for anything that's happened because it's been a learning process.
I think as long as we remember that when we work together, there's nothing that Spokane can't do. I don't think we'll ever do away with homelessness in its entirety ever, because you're always going to have somebody who falls into homelessness. But we can manage it.