7/20/2022

Spokane Mayor Nadine Woodward has no plans to negotiate a purchase of the East Trent Avenue warehouse earmarked by the city as a 150- to 250-bed homeless shelter.

Instead the city is leasing 4320 E. Trent Ave. from developer Larry Stone. The five-year lease includes an option to buy the property. In a split vote Monday, the Spokane City Council requested the administration explore purchase negotiations.

“At the end of it, whether we sell it or we use it for another opportunity for the city to use, who knows at what type of capacity, it will be another resource,” said Councilwoman Betsy Wilkerson.

“It will not, I feel, be an albatross around our neck if we own it instead of just renting it.”

Stone – who purchased the property in late March for $3.5 million, according to Spokane County property records – is facilitating a series of renovations funded from undisclosed private sources to the warehouse, such as lighting improvements, fencing repairs and dividing the facility with temporary wall sections.

Figuring those improvements could put the building’s price at more than $4 million. Woodward has said spending that kind of money on the property without knowing how long the city will need it is not the “wisest investment.”

“We have a five-year lease agreement with the option to end it sooner,” Woodward said Tuesday. “Depending on projects that are in discussion now and where that puts us with our shelter capacity in the next few years, we may not need that building. And so it’s much cheaper, let’s say we had it for three years, to lease it than to purchase it and maintain it.”

The option to buy is available through the first six months of the lease agreement. It calls for an appraiser who would be agreed upon by the landlord and the city. Nothing in the contract would hold Stone to that appraiser’s price, however.

The lease also includes an early termination clause at the cost of eight months’ of rent. The base rent, plus a 2.5% lease management fee, puts the monthly cost at $26,752.50. That puts the estimated cost of the lease over the five years over $1.6 million.

Woodward said the “House of Charity 2.0” concept through Catholic Charities of Eastern Washington could have some bearing on how long the city might need the Trent shelter. Announced in late April during Woodward’s State of the City address, Catholic Charities plans to relocate the House of Charity shelter to a larger campus somewhere outside of downtown Spokane.

A proposal is in the works from the city, Spokane County and other neighboring jurisdictions to seek out $24.3 million offered by the state Department of Commerce to support efforts to relocate the hundreds of people living in the Camp Hope homeless encampment at East Second Avenue and Ray Street.

Woodward said projects outlined in that proposal, if approved by Commerce, could also factor into the city’s need for the Trent property in the coming years.

“We don’t do the best job of maintaining buildings we already have,” she said, “so I don’t want to add more real estate that requires more cost and more staff.”

Council President Breean Beggs sponsored Monday’s resolution asking the city to negotiate a purchase. Beggs said he feels the city needs a dedicated place for people in the event of excessive heat, cold or smoke.

“One of the reasons I like this building is that it will have space for 150 to 250 people on a regular basis, but it has surge capacity,” he said. “So I think we need it. It will save lives and save money in the long run to just have that.”

The council approved the nonbinding resolution to ask the city to enter into purchase negotiations with a 4-3 vote, with council members Jonathan Bingle, Michael Cathcart and Karen Stratton opposed.

“I don’t think either way is a bad way to go,” Bingle said. “I think it’s necessary for what we’re trying to do. Winter is closely approaching. Smoke is coming. Having a place to be able to provide shelter for people in desperate times is going to be good.”

Cathcart said he was told “explicitly” from the administration that the series of improvements facilitated by Stone would “go away” if the city were to purchase the building. A private sector arrangement, one officials have been unwilling to go into detail about, is funding those improvements.

Chris Patterson of Hello for Good, a Washington Trust Bank-backed business coalition formed to address homelessness in Spokane, characterized Cathcart’s understanding as inaccurate, however, saying the organization has been working hard to make sure the shelter comes to fruition and “we want the politics to stay out of it.” Stone is a member of Hello for Good’s steering committee.

“As far as the tenant improvements, no. We, as Hello for Good, have never said that’s going to disappear,” Patterson said. “They would still be going forward full speed.”

Stone could not immediately be reached for comment.

Stratton, meanwhile, maintained that she does not believe the Trent location is an appropriate place for a homeless shelter.

“Again, I think it’s warehousing people. I think we can do better,” Stratton said, “and I think our efforts and our money can be focused on bigger and better ideas, but this one isn’t doing it for me.” Greg Mason can be reached at (509) 459-5047 or gregm@spokesman. com.

STOP DOWNTOWN CAMPING NOW

By Chris Batten

Unauthorized camping has a significant impact on businesses, residents, workers and visitors that frequent downtown Spokane, including the most vulnerable in our society.

In recent weeks, city of Spokane administration and councilmembers have presented updates to re-establish city ordinances to address the concerns shared by downtown’s residents and businesses daily.

Sitting, lying and camping on the sidewalks and underpasses of downtown creates conditions that prevent access, impede commerce and render our sidewalks impassable, creating detrimental economic impacts that affect our very ability to raise tax revenues that can support housing and services for individuals experiencing homelessness.

While we work in earnest to focus on housing, shelter and wraparound services, we cannot turn a blind eye to the real impacts hazardous encampments have. In a compact urban environment like downtown Spokane, there is no room for people to sit, lie and camp while maintaining access for everyone. We urgently need policies that address unauthorized camping in downtown.

The time has come for Spokane to take the necessary action of ensuring the sidewalks of downtown are safe, clean and welcoming. Implement and enforce time and place restrictions on where and when individuals can camp on downtown public property; clear encampments that pose health and safety threats; and enforce rules that keep our sidewalks clean. As a partner in the effort to end homelessness, the downtown community appreciates the challenge of finding workable solutions. I hear desperation daily from locally-owned small businesses striving to recover from an unprecedented 2020 and 2021. They didn’t give up on Spokane, and now they wonder if Spokane has given up on them.

Creating a special set of exemptions, privileges and rights for some to occupy public and private property without complying with laws that apply to others undermines the ability of all citizens to access clean and nonthreatening public spaces, while jeopardizing the safety of residents and the economic viability of local businesses.

Earlier this year, in a detailed analysis of Martin v. City of Boise challenges, Portland-based lawfirm Tonkon Torp LLP clarified that the court’s decision “in no way” requires governments to “allow anyone who wishes to sit, lie, or sleep on the streets ... at any time and at any place.” The subsequent review of 13 Martin v. City of Boise legal challenges brought against cities across the West found that only two were successful, resulting in cities having to vacate the enforcement of no camping and related laws.

Nine other cases upheld cities enforcing their laws, because they properly engaged the actual principles of Martin v. City of Boise, and the final two cases provided relief to property owners whose property was damaged by a lack of enforcement of laws.

Aside from legal risks, encampments can cause substantial interference with intended uses of public facilities and increased costs from responding to emergency situations, damage to critical infrastructure, reduced urban livability and desirability, and the loss of tax revenue.

The urban core is unique. The concentration of critical infrastructure, hospitality activities and pedestrian traffic require establishing a no-camping area and clarify enforcement of sit-lie policies between 6 a.m. and midnight in the Downtown Business Improvement District/ Downtown Police Precinct.

These ordinances are a critical part of Spokane’s ability to address homelessness and promote safe and accessible public spaces. The time is right, and the time is now to take action. Chris Batten is the principal of RenCorp Realty and board chair of the Downtown Spokane Partnership.

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KREM

Spokane County leaders submit plans to clear homeless camp near I-90 and Freya

Those actions include adding more space at the Trent shelter and buying a motel on the Sunset Highway.

SPOKANE VALLEY, Wash. — Spokane County leaders have until Thursday to come up with a plan to clear the homeless camp near I-90 and Freya if they want access to $24 million in state funding.

Local leaders have shared what they plan to do with 30% of the funds or about $7.5 million. Those actions include adding more space at the Trent shelter and buying a motel on the Sunset Highway. Officials are not ready to say which building exactly, but it would have enough space for 110 people.

County leaders have until Thursday to submit plans for the other $17 million. But, on Tuesday night, Spokane Valley Council members said they have concerns and decided not to sign on to the regional proposal.

"I agree that Camp Hope is not a good situation over there, not what's going on there," Councilmember Ben Wick said. "It's not a good situation. It needs to be broken up, it needs to do something different. I just don't see a mega facility, regardless of where it would be at, is a good solution for that."

Spokane Valley Council members suggested coming up with their own proposal. But the Department of Commerce has given counties until Thursday to submit a regional plan. According to Jewels Helping Hands, the homeless camp has grown to more than 600 people.

'I would not be happy': Spokane City Council allows multi-family homes on single-family lots

Spokane City Council voted unanimously to approve a one-year pilot program that allows duplexes, triplexes and fourplexes to be built on single-family lots.

SPOKANE, Wash. — More multi-family housing is now an option across all residential zones in the city of Spokane after Spokane City Council unanimously passed a new ordinance that allows multi-family housing to be built on single-family plots of land.

The one-year pilot program will allow for duplexes, triplexes and fourplexes to be built on lots that traditionally were zoned for single-family homes. Some Spokane residents are concerned about what the program will do to their neighborhoods. Mary Gence, who lives in Lincoln Heights, said she would not be happy if multi-family homes were built near her.

"Certainly, the traffic changes. The noise level changes. If you've got one family versus four families, you've got four times the amount of cars. Your living style is affected," Gence said.

Gence understands the city needs more housing, but she wants other options to be considered, like building on existing vacant lots. But the Executive Director of Spokane's Low Income Housing Consortium, Ben Stuckart, said the city needs to pursue every solution in order to solve Spokane's housing crisis and lower prices. He says this program will open up a "missing middle" of housing in the city.

"We've seen rents rise over 50% in the past two years, and that's really a supply problem. This will help address that," Stuckart said.

According to Stuckart, a city with a healthy housing market has a vacancy rate of 5-10%. Spokane's vacancy rate sits at about 2%, which means high rental rates.

Stuckart said the multi-family housing ordinance is a step towards alleviating Spokane's housing crisis, and it won't impact residents as much as they might think.

"In 2018, Minneapolis passed a similar measure and they saw an increase of maybe 50 fourplexes citywide in a much larger city," Stuckart said.

He said it's a gradual process, and residents won't see drastic change overnight. Once the year-long program is over, the city council has the option to vote to extend the program.

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KXLY

'Huge weight off my shoulders': Families struggling to pay for summer meals to receive food assistance

July 19, 2022 11:14 PM

SPOKANE, Wash. — Relief is coming for families struggling to pay for their kids’ meals this summer.

Beginning in August, Washington families will receive one-time payment of $391 added to each of their child’s pandemic-EBT card at the beginning of August to pay for summer meals.

Any school-aged kids on the state’s for free or reduced lunch program qualify.

“They’re at home more, so usually the school provides breakfast or lunch, you know we only have to do snacks or dinner, so to have to do breakfast and lunch you know, that’s double, triple times our food,” said Shawntee Perry, a mom of 2.

Angela Clark, a mother of four growing boys, is also struggling with her grocery bill this summer.

“My kids are wanting their protein meals a day, because they’re teenagers. They’re working out, they’re wanting to eat healthy, that’s just what they’re being taught in school but we can’t do that and this is a way of doing that,” Clark said.

Perry and Clark’s kids qualify for free and reduced school lunches, but with school out for the summer, these moms are on their own.

“Maybe the county helped me with two weeks worth, and then the other two weeks, I’m pretty much at like food banks or like some type of assistance,” Perry said. “This helps out a lot because now I’ll get it for both of my kids, and now it won’t be that hard on me.”

Families with kids under the age of six enrolled in the state’s basic food assistance program will also automatically qualify.

“It’s a huge weight off my shoulders, like I think for everyone, not just for me but for everyone in this town,” Clark said.

Newly eligible kids will receive an approval letter later this month, and their P-EBT card will be sent in the mail.

For families that have lost or misplaced their P-EBT cards, you can call 888-328-9271. If your address has changed, you can call the P-EBT Contact Center at 833-518-0282.

You can find more information on Pandemic EBT cards here.

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The Center Square

Nearly 800 homeless to be permanently housed in King County

(The Center Square) – The King County Regional Homelessness Authority says 786 households have recently been permanently housed in King County.

Over 1,300 federally funded emergency housing vouchers were accepted in May 2021 by KCRHA, the Seattle Housing Authority and Renton Housing Authority. The vouchers were funded through American Rescue Plan.

The vouchers were created to assist persons and households experiencing homelessness, at risk of experiencing homelessness, fleeing, or attempting to flee domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, or human trafficking; or are at high risk of housing instability, according to KCRHA.

Six months after the vouchers were distributed, only 10 people had used them to move into permanent housing. Now, nearly 800 families have moved into permanent housing, according to KCRHA.

Marc Dones, the CEO of KCRHA, noted in a press release that the current homeless response system is on track to move 5,000 to 7,000 people who are homeless into permanent housing on an annual basis.

“This proves that yes we can house people on purpose,” Dones said in a statement. “The bigger problem is that our region hasn’t addressed the root causes: rising rents and stagnant wages, structural racism and access to health care that are pushing more people into homelessness every day.”

The efforts by KCRHA, the Seattle Housing Authority and Renton Housing Authority to move people into permanent housing is what Kristy Johnson, King County Housing Authority’s senior director of policy, research and social impact initiatives, would call “nothing short of remarkable.”

“As of this morning, 577 or 76% of KCHA’s allocation of 762 emergency housing vouchers have successfully been leased,” Johnson added.

People cannot just receive emergency housing vouchers. Service providers must first refer people to the Regional Housing Authority for assessment and completing applications. Then public housing authorities evaluate the applicant and issue vouchers.

Once a voucher recipient finds housing, the housing authorities pay the rental subsidy with federal funds until they no longer need it. Newly issued funding opportunities by the Regional Housing Authority help support housing search and ongoing tenancy support services, as well.

According to the most recent point in time count by the King County Regional Homelessness Authority in May 2022, the number of people experiencing homelessness has risen 13.8% over the last two years, while the percentage of sheltered homeless is down 10%.

The portion of homeless with shelter is 43%, according to the point-in-time count. Two years prior, the percentage of homeless that had access to shelter consistently was 53%.

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The Wall St Journal

Heat Waves: How Record-High Temperatures Can Affect the Human Body

The National Weather Service says more than 100 million people across the U.S. are under heat alerts this week

Dominique MosbergenJuly 19, 2022 5:30 pm ET

The National Weather Service this week said that more than 100 million people across the U.S. are under heat alerts, with dangerous heat—in some locations up to 100 degrees Fahrenheit or higher—threatening large portions of the South-Central and Northeast U.S.

Public health officials have warned people in hot areas to take measures to prevent heat stress, which can lead to potentially serious and even deadly heat illnesses like heat stroke.

Here’s what to know about the effects of extreme heat on the human body:

What is extreme heat?

Extreme heat is defined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as weather that is much hotter or more humid than average for a particular time and region. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security defines extreme heat as a period of high heat and humidity with temperatures above 90 degrees for at least two to three days.

Some public health experts, however, caution against pointing to a specific temperature as “extreme” as the same temperature could have different health impacts depending on the location and the person in question. Extreme heat is “what feels unusually hot to you, based on where you live,” said Gregory Wellenius, professor of environmental health at Boston University. “That’s because we all to some degree get used to a certain summertime heat. Some places are more accustomed to hot temperatures and others are not.”

Dr. Wellenius pointed to Britain as an example. “It’s hitting 40 degrees Celsius, which is unprecedented. It’s not accustomed to those high temperatures and won’t be as prepared as, say, somewhere in Southern Europe or the Southern U.S.”

Excessive sweating can lead to dehydration and electrolyte imbalances in the body, which can impact muscular and neurological systems.Photo: SHELBY TAUBER/REUTERS

What happens to the human body when exposed to extreme heat?

The human body is constantly trying to regulate its core body temperature, which is ideally maintained within a narrow range of about 97 degrees to around 99 or 100 degrees Fahrenheit.

When faced with extra heat, the body attempts to release some of it through sweating and by sending more blood from the warmer interior of the body to the skin’s surface, where heat can dissipate into the surrounding air.

As sweat evaporates, cooling can occur but excessive sweating can lead to dehydration and electrolyte imbalances, which can impact muscular and neurological systems, according to Chris Uejio, an associate professor at Florida State University who specializes in the health impacts of climate change.

To send more blood to the skin’s surface, the heart beats faster and blood vessels dilate to accommodate more blood flow. This can cause a strain on the cardiovascular system, increasing risks of strokes and coronary events like heart attacks, said Dr. Uejio.

He added that studies have linked extreme heat to other health impacts, including pulmonary and kidney-related problems, as well as mental-health issues.

If the body is unable to cool itself sufficiently, it can overheat, which when extreme can cause organ damage or failure and even death.

How hot is too hot for the human body?

Heat stress happens when the body isn’t able to adequately cool itself—but that ability depends on several factors, including the person’s age and health and the environmental conditions they are in, said Dr. Wellenius.

“There’s not a magical temperature. Different people have different abilities to cope,” he said.

High humidity can make it seem hotter than it is as the body isn’t able to cool itself as effectively through sweating in muggy conditions. Someone with pre-existing conditions or who may be taking certain medications may experience heat stress more quickly. That may also be true for people who aren’t able to seek shelter from prolonged heat exposure.

What role does humidity play in heat waves and extreme heat?

A measurement known as the wet-bulb globe temperature is sometimes used as an indicator of heat-related stress on the body, specifically when doing outdoor activities. The wet-bulb globe temperature, a type of perceived temperature, is a measurement that takes into account multiple environmental factors including temperature, humidity, wind speed, sun angle and cloud cover.

The National Weather Service advises taking precautions when doing outdoor activities when the wet-bulb globe temperature is above 80 degrees Fahrenheit. Once the wet-bulb globe temperature exceeds 90 degrees, the body can become stressed after just 15 minutes of outdoor activity, the agency said.

“Pretty consistently, we’ve seen that the more hot, humid, stagnant and sunny it is, the higher the risk,” said Dr. Uejio.

Some research has shown that multiple days in a row of high heat exposure can also increase the risk of illness, he added.

ISABEL INFANTES/REUTERS

Who is most vulnerable to the effects of extreme heat?

While extreme heat can be a risk to anyone, some groups are at higher risk of health impacts, experts say. Those groups include older adults and people with pre-existing health conditions, such as cardiovascular or respiratory diseases and mental health conditions. People who have no access to adequate shelter or air-conditioning, such as the unhoused, and those who work or exercise outdoors could also be at higher risk, according to Dr. Wellenius.

“Everybody is at risk, even those who are young, physically fit and healthy,” said Dr. Wellenius.

Write to Dominique Mosbergen at dominique.mosbergen@wsj.com

Higher Overdose Death Rates Among Blacks, Native Americans Reflect Treatment Disparities, CDC Says

Income inequality also tied to higher drug overdose death rates, study shows

Julie WernauUpdated July 19, 2022 11:45 pm ET

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Tuesday that overdose deaths per 100,000 people increased 44% for Black people and 39% for Native Americans in 2020 from a year earlier compared with a 22% increase among white people. The CDC said 2020 was the most recent year for which it had complete data from 25 states analyzed in the study as well as Washington, D.C.

Overdose rates were higher in areas with more opioid-treatment programs than average, a finding that the study’s authors said demonstrated other barriers to access for some people. Overdose rates were also higher in counties with higher income inequality, according to the report. The findings show how the escalating overdose crisis is exacting a mounting toll on minority groups that are in some cases marginalized by the healthcare system, CDC researchers said.

“Just because there is availability of services doesn’t mean that services are actually accessible,” said Mbabazi Kariisa, a health scientist in the CDC’s overdose-prevention division. “Factors like stigmatization as well as mistrust in the general healthcare system may prevent people from accessing the treatment services.”

The report looks at patterns among the nearly 92,000 people who died of overdoses in 2020, a 30% increase over the previous year, driven largely by the spread of the potent opioid fentanyl. Fentanyl has since continued to permeate the drug supply, and overdose deaths have risen further. Drug-overdose deaths in 2021 topped 100,000 for the first time in a calendar year, preliminary CDC data showed

Drug deaths among Black people in 2020 eclipsed the rate in the white population for the first time since 1999, researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles have shown. The gap in overdose rates between the Black and white populations was narrowing before the pandemic.

According to the CDC study, Black people between ages 15 and 24 experienced the largest increase in overdose death rates from 2019 to 2020 at 86%. Native American women between 25 and 44 years old were nearly two times as likely to die of an overdose in 2020 than their white counterparts.

While a history of substance abuse was common among people who died, CDC researchers found that a history of substance-use treatment wasn’t. About a tenth of Native Americans had reportedly received treatment and one in 12 Black people. White people were nearly twice as likely to have received treatment as Black people.

Researchers at the University of Michigan examining outpatient visits for substance use in recent years found that white patients were three to four times as likely as Black patients to receive buprenorphine, a prescription medication to treat opioid dependence that is more readily available to people with health insurance or the means to pay out of pocket.

Health providers are more likely to direct Black patients to methadone, which is delivered by highly regulated opioid-treatment programs that often require daily visits to obtain the medication, researchers have found.

Expanding access to telehealth and mobile services for opioid treatment would help improve access, said Debra E. Houry, CDC’s acting principal deputy director and director of CDC’s National Center for Injury Prevention and Control.

“We believe that now is the time to provide the communities with the additional resources they need,” she said.

Write to Julie Wernau at Julie.Wernau@wsj.com