7/24/2022
####################################################
The Spokesman-Review
Letters to the Editor - Mayor Woodward should try being homeless
KREM
####################################################
The Spokesman-Review
Letters to the Editor - Mayor Woodward should try being homeless
Mayor Nadine Woodward claims, on behalf of the city, that “We make it easy to be homeless.” If that’s such a desirable way to live in Spokane, perhaps she’d like to give it a try.
Jim Price
Spokane
My father drank his way out of our house. Mom got him a furnished room in a building with other men who’d done the same.
It was ugly, sad and smelled awful, but it was a roof over his head and a lock on the door.
Mom tried, but fought mental illness. When I was 19 I had to leave. I made $100 for the week at a movie theater and put $50 down for a week on a tiny hotel room. No deposit, no ID. Family is supposed to be a refuge, but for too many, it’s a trap. Foster care is worse. It’s hard to trust any person or agency.
Many mean well but don’t understand the claustrophobia.
There are wildlife refuges; there needs to be a place set aside for feral people. I had Times Square and Hell’s Kitchen, but most of those places are gone and tent cities now abound. Spokane had the Carlyle that housed 75 people with mental illness. There were SROs at the bottom of the hill from Sacred Heart. All gone now. You had a free standing Clubhouse program for people with mental illness, now closed. The Fountain House clubhouse program in NYC eases people into housing and jobs.
Mayor Woodward, take a trip east and take a tour of the program, it would not only help with homelessness, it would greatly help the labor shortage. I suggest protecting a tiny piece of the city for the poor.
Nancy McCormick
Chewelah
####################################################
KREM
City officials encourage residents to take advantage of publics spaces and facilities that provide relief from the heat.
SPOKANE, Wash. — The city of Spokane is offering multiple resources to help residents keep cool as temperatures will reach the upper 90s to over 100 degrees starting Tuesday through Friday evening.
Mayor Nadine Woodward stated, "We encourage residents to take advantage of the public spaces and facilities throughout the City to help them stay cool as we experience extremely hot weather, and we ask people to check on their more vulnerable neighbors who might not have air conditioning."
Spokane Public Library locations are open 7 days a week and provide air-conditioned spaces for city residents. Hours include Mon.-Thur. 9am to 7pm, Fri.-Sat. 10am to 5pm, and Sun. 12pm to 4pm.
Spokane Public Library locations:
Central – 906 W. Main St.
Shadle Park – 2111 W. Wellesley Ave.
Liberty Park – 402 S. Pittsburg St.
Hillyard – 4110 N. Cook St.
Spokane Parks & Recreation also offer splash pads and pools where residents can cool down. Splash pads operate from 9am-8pm in 19 different parks. While 6 city pools are also open Mon.-Sat. with varied hours.
Extreme heat significantly increases the potential for heat related illnesses, particularly for those working or participating in outdoor activities. This high-risk heat can be highly problematic for those who lack effective cooling, hydration and air-conditioning as well as those who are heat sensitive.