A Plan for an Emergency Shelter Facility for Spokane
Executive Summary:
This white paper identifies a plan for construction of a low-barrier Emergency Shelter facility out on Spokane’s West Plains area. However, many of the ideas can be used for other potential locations as well.
The plan identifies and discusses the following:
· A potential parcel of land
· Provision of Fire and Police protection
· Transportation to and from the facility
· Temporary and semi-permanent housing, meal preparation, and restroom/showering facilities
· Security for residents and their belongings
· Provision of Social and health services
· Provision of spaces for both tents and RVs
Please note: previous versions of this plan used the terms “homeless” and “homeless camp” exclusively. Upon review and input from many people, we have decided to change those words where appropriate (we will still use “homeless” where it seems to fit better) to references to the need for emergency shelter.
We cannot imagine that the only reason we will suddenly be presented with 300 to 500 people needing shelter is due to “bad choices”, an attitude unfortunately taken by many towards people traditionally thought of as “homeless”. The Malden fire, which occurred on Labor Day, 2020 – in the midst of the growing Covid crisis – shows us that there will be times when we need to find emergency shelter for our citizens who have “NO choices”. People who decide that living outside in tents and tarps is deadly when the temperature drops below zero are not making bad choices – they are making good ones. Thus, we need to be prepared to house our fellow citizens who make the GOOD choice to seek shelter. (Dave Z and Dan S)
Background: Spokane has a seemingly impossible problem of accommodating people experiencing homelessness who may suddenly seek shelter due to either personal or environmental disaster. There are insufficient beds and services to accommodate the population of unsheltered people who may suddenly decide they need shelter and support. The problem is especially critical during cold weather when people who have previously chosen to live out-of-doors are exposed to life-threatening weather conditions. There are unmet medical needs, loss of life, increased crime, untreated trauma and mental illness, unchecked alcohol and drug addiction, and increased costs for property owners, businesses, law enforcement, and social services.
A City ordinance requires operation of a warming center whenever temperatures go below 32 degrees F., but no sites for permanent or seasonal use have been found. There is a strong kickback, characterized by the term “NIMBY” (Not in My Back Yard) from citizens living near any known empty buildings.
This draft is a work in progress. Seven versions have been reviewed by an ever-increasing number of citizens who are putting forth suggestions for its expansion and detailing. In essence, this plan shows how some City property between the Spokane Airport and Fairchild AFB could be put into use as an overflow camp. It would provide temporary services for the unsheltered population when it is in excess of the number of beds available at various charity operations.
The goal is to define services and facilities that can support a fluctuating number of people without housing them in the neighborhoods of Spokane or leaving them to house themselves out of desperation in places and ways that interfere with the normal activities or security of Spokane citizens. The plan suggests several low-cost possible accommodations in said camp, proposed to keep the coast of establishment as low as possible while providing for a fluctuating number of persons it would need to accommodate.
A. The Plan:
The proposed operation is a two-pronged solution. It addresses the emergency housing, treatment, and general human welfare of those without housing while providing an alternative to having people camped out, or just hanging out, on City streets or in business doorways. On several occasions in the past, City agencies have conducted “sweeps” of areas where homeless camps existed, and told those residents to “move on”. In many cases their properties – consisting of tents, sleeping bags, food supplies, identification, cell phones and more, have been thrown into dump trucks.
The difficulty with those orders is that there was no place to “move on” to. For those people affected, this represented a particularly disappointing experience producing grief, and in some cases, great anger. For many, this kind of experience represents an increase in the amount of pressure they feel from being “homeless”, and a verification that the rest of humanity is strongly against them as persons. For those suffering from mental health issues, it can be a deepening of their personal crisis. In short, it’s inhumane.
It is observed that:
1) In the two weeks in which the Convention Center was used as a warming facility in late December and early January (2021-22), the estimated instantaneous occupancy need for shelter facilities was more than 400-500 more than the available beds of all types.
2) There are several agencies located in or near downtown Spokane that provide some relief to people experiencing homelessness of differing construct and needs. Most of them have some degree of barrier or qualification to accommodation. These may be matters of sobriety, mental acuity, or willingness and ability to perform some degree of work, or commitment to attending religious or other meetings, all of which may exclude many of the “homeless” population. Some of the organizations are able to provide housing only during days, some only for nighttime, and very few for 24-hours. There are very few low-barrier accommodations, which are the primary (but not exclusive) focus of this plan.
3) The Spokane Airport is an operation owned by both the City and the County, and it is managed by a Board that contains a few of the same persons as comprise the City and County Councils. The Spokane Transit Authority (STA) is likewise an agency that is committed for public service, and which may or may not need to be a component of this plan.
4) The Spokane Airport owns several large parcels of land located generally between the Spokane Airport (“Geiger” Field) and Fairchild Air Force Base.
5) There is a large parcel of basically flat land located to the southwest of the intersection of W McFarlane Rd and S Hayford Rd. The land is owned by the Airport Municipality and reserved for future airport business expansion, which is as yet undesignated. This land is outside of the high-noise profile of the airport, and outside of any aircraft circling or approach/departure corridor.
6) Fire and Police services in the area of this property are provided by the City of Airway Heights, which already houses facilities for criminal incarceration for City of Spokane and Spokane County. Therefore agreements exist which might be modified for cross-jurisdictional safety services.
7) This land is close to existing bus service by Spokane Transit Authority (STA) routes serving Spokane Airport and Fairchild AFB. A minor change to the Fairchild AFB or Spokane Airport STA routes could put bus service right to the proposed property. An even better transportation solution would be a dedicated “camp bus” with bicycle rack and wheel chair lift, running shuttles between the camp and locations in town where services are provided.
B. A Proposed Solution :
To the NIMBY issue, for sure, and as a workable, secure and effective temporary overflow housing arrangement for a wide range of so-called “homeless” situations. It can be done immediately to a satisfactory degree, with both near-term and longer-range development, and at relatively low cost.
1) Get City, County, and Airport Boards to approve use of the lot at the SW corner of W Thorne Rd and S. Hayford Rd for a temporary campsite to accept the facilitation of all overflow or low-barrier cases. (for Eastern Washington for that matter, which would suggest some funding could be expected from the State). A right-to-use agreement should be given for an initial three years, with the clause that the agreement expiration notice of one year will be given, and will not expire during the period of July through March of any years. (This would allow time to arrange for a different site outside of cold months.)
2) Obtain or rent: Construction shacks, circus/airshow tents, old school buses, group garden sheds, or any rain-tight shelters that can be heated electrically or thermally, and used for single or multi-party sleeping shelter. Additionally, lavatory/washbasin vans (as seen at fairs, etc.), field heaters, cook-tent items, Wi-Fi, and a camp loud-speaker system with speakers on light poles would be provided.
3) Make a space-use plan for their resident placement in “Areas” 1 through 6 that more or less correspond to the homeless “Groups” identified at the bottom end of this paper.
4) Hire and equip an on-site managing organization, of such background as can understand the variety of homeless situations, and which can direct the development and operation of the site to best serve the residents with the available resources. Such organization would provide a resident camp manager or management staff, to
5) Provide modular building(s) similar to construction management shacks for social services office. Request DSHS provide a camp counselor or rotate them from other existing social services locations.
6) Invite area charitable groups to participate in providing food and health sources to the camp, preparing food on-site, and such other activities which may be beneficial to the welfare, recreation, and enjoyment of camp residents.
7) Provide training for Airway Heights PD and Fire agencies regarding the setup and personnel needs in the camp, and perhaps fund additional personnel if deemed necessary.
8) Set up temporary waste provisions which could be by tank truck until a septic tank can be installed.
9) Provide camp water by tank truck, until a water service can be established. (There is water service to the property across the road to the North.)
10) Install a temporary electric service which should include capacity for outlets and electric heat to the construction shack buildings and to lighting on poles. Capacity for air conditioners (cooler fans for large tents) should be installed before summer.
11) Gravel should be placed for bus loop and limited car parking.
12) For some families with cars or RV’s an area can be provided where they can live in their car without being in the way of neighborhoods, or being required by police to “move along”. These sites could have electric outlet for heater or battery charger, and possibly a storage locker.
13) This facility should not displace any of the other charities' housing efforts, but work in concert with them to provide overflow and "special case" housing. Also, this would not be a penal facility, per se, but it would be a facility to which vagrants or loiterers in Spokane neighborhoods could be transported, in lieu of jailing or citations, if they would agree to stay there.
14) Key persons from existing organizations that are providing some of the relief for Spokane's homeless should be part of the planning. The ad hoc committee that has put together this recommendation will make their services available on a volunteer basis, to assist in finding resources that could contribute to this camp city.
C. Next steps in Development: Provisioning the Emergency Shelter
The following are possibilities for next-step, relatively inexpensive development of a well-equipped emergency shelter camp. Such equipage needs to be flexible in respect to the number of units or people it will support.
1) Almost every school district that runs its own buses now has bids in for funding for new electric school buses. A condition of accepting those grants requires that the buses being replace be permanently disabled, mainly by drilling large holes in their diesel engines. These bus shells would make decent housing. Their hot-water under-seat heating systems could be retained, and connected to a community hot-water generator. A 36-foot bus with a door at each end could make two 8 ft. x 18 ft. housing units, or an interior emptied of seats could accommodate 20 people in wall-mounted bunk beds (Navy ship style) for warming. Most of these buses have 12- or 24-volt interior lighting that could be re-purposed. They could have wheels removed, be set down to near ground level, doors replaced (with standard house doors), have windows treated with whatever the residents would want, and be an inexpensive initial housing unit, a step up from a nylon tent, at least. (Note: Windows in a bus configured with bunks should be covered on the inside with Styrofoam covered by panel board.)
2) A kitchen hut, and toilet facilities could be constructed, and other support facilities in old school buses, trailer vans, or construction-site-style modular buildings. Railroads might donate out-of-service box cars or other types.
3) A lot of the labor required to establish such a “park” and maintain it, could be provided by tenants in exchange for food supplies, other “commissary” items, or spending cash (commensurate with the individual’s ability to manage it responsibly). Responsible contractors might serve as tutors and inspectors for some construction.
4) There should be a space-use plan for tenant placement that allows separations for those who don't want to be close to anyone (like those who stayed at "Camp Hope 2.0" instead of going to the CC shelter), and those who may be a threat or annoyance to other “groups”.
5) There should be spaces for people who want to live in their cars or RV’s, with electrical outlets, suitable water and rest-room facilities, and dedicated storage units.
6) Usage rules: Set guidelines for "free", "work for", partial payment, or full rent values (the latter for those with jobs, just looking for a home to rent or purchase). “Rent” paid should be contributed to camp operation and development expenses.
D. Property Development Suggestions
1. The camp would need semi-permanent water, sewer/septic and electric supply off roads to the north and east. The main water and electrical services should be permanently installed along a fence-line, so they would serve the purpose of future sale or building on the lot, useful for an eventual owner.
2. A “mechanical” building should be constructed to house electrical panels and main water valves, as well as storage for camp operating equipment and supplies. A propane fueled (possibly convert-able to natural gas) boiler system of the kind used to heat under-floor radiant coils, for buildings, modular office structures, and bus-conversions, closest to the mech building. Even tent-sites could be grouped and equipped with a pedestal supporting a deep-earth (“frost-free”) cold water valve and faucet, an electrical outlet with ground-fault protection, and connection in some cases with supply and return tubes for the hot-water heating system. (Hot-water or electric heat using fluid radiation for tents would be a better heat system for tents than having tenants use fuel-fired heating systems.)
3. Portable administrative structures ("Construction" modules, small mobile home units, trailers, motorhomes etc.) can be useful for Manager's quarters, Office, Store, and rest-room facilities. One idea for the latter would be to have “closets” containing a toilet, wash basin, and shower along with hangers for mop and scrub bucket, situated around a room with a monitor’s desk. There would be a requirement for any guest using a “closet” to be sure it is clean and dry when they are finished using it. The monitor could check the cleanliness and dryness upon the user coming out, and counsel the user on any necessary steps to insure there is no damage and the facility is left clean.
4. The development could look a lot like a mobile home and “RV” park, with some units provided, others available for tenant parking. These facilities would be for some people to park their own RV’s (with some standards), some mobile-homes or RV’s to use as “rentals”, or all persons who show responsibility to live in their cars with electric radiant heat and battery charges when needed.
5. An assembly area/game room, Medical Services Unit, Site, garage, tenant belongings storage, a "Community Center" with Kitchen for Activities, meetings, training, church services, etc. Some facility should be provided for individual residents to be able to store their belongs that are not needed at a camp-site, and to be able to receive mail privately.
6. Sectioned Areas (Developed by plan, like a mini city with some areas fenced for security.) It would be suggested that there should be play-ground-style (12 ft.) chain link fencing around the entire facility, serve numerous security purposes. Not the least of purposes would be to limit (but not entirely eliminate the ability of tenants to access sellers of prohibited substances.) It is suggested that the security policy would be to prevent non-residents from coming into the camp area, but not to lock anyone in. Driveway gate(s) should be within sight of camp monitor(s), with reasonable video vision of the sites, but not to the extent of making the site look like a prison. Parking for visitors should be allowed only in the front-gate parking area where a bus shelter and boarding/offload loop would be locate outside of the gate.
7. Most spaces with Mini-housing (converted school buses, modular storage sheds, "semi-permanent" tents, and eventually “Tiny-houses”, should be placed by plan and assigned by management to make best use of the acreage and match each resident to the optimum facility for their need. (Rental cost and/or work responsibility for shelter provisions should graduate somewhat in accordance with the sophistication of the space or structure assigned. A portion of tent spaces should be available to those who just want their space and individuality for the least in exchange. Those spaces should be as widely spaced as possible. Possibly, thought might be given to putting fencing around some of those sites to give the resident the most possible privacy and security for belongings. (The issue of type of assignment and responsibility of the resident should be largely determined by the counsellors in the management program. There should be rules, however, and penalties for breaking rules, commensurate with the capabilities of the persons involved.)All living spaces should either have the ability to lock up to safeguard their belongings, or assigned locker spaces.
8. Utilities should be mapped out by a professional engineer qualified in the medium being designed, but coordinated with space planning to both minimize costs and maximize the social accommodation of the types of tenants. Facilities to be planned would be:
a. Roadways, walk-ways, lighting/wi-fi/loudspeaker supports
b. Electrical, water, (Possibly natural gas), and waste facilitation and trunking
c. Central hot-water generator for heat in multiple units.
E. Social Structures
We observe that there are about seven “groups” into which those who need emergency shelter could be defined. Some degree of separation should be created between the spaces for each group. The designations should not be such that there is a stigma associated with any one Area, but assignments to Areas should be made by observations of the managing organization.
Group 1: Families or individuals who have been rendered homeless due to environmental disaster – fires, floods, etc.
Group 2: Families or individuals who are reliable except have been evicted for non-payment of rent or too poor to qualify (short or long-term)
Group 3: Individuals or families that have lived on skirts of society, may resort to theft, can't stay "clean", possibly druggies.
Group 4: Drug/alcohol addict (individual or family), seldom criminal (minor theft, etc.), in and out of rehab, possibly scam artists
Group 5: Vagabond, at times will work, may be family, could do work in a "camp" if guided (many minorities in this category, usually due to racist effects)
Group 6: Habitually vagrant, marginally criminal, unable to even get along with each other, destroy property just for "fun" or “revenge”.
Group 7: Habitually into minor crimes to support drug addiction, seldom any connections to others, possibly dangerous if annoyed.
This paper is presented by: David Zehrung, editor – dfzehrung@gmail.com
After review and edits by a coalition of concerned citizens:
George “Jib” Critchlow - georgecritchlow@icloud.com
Jerry Dicker - gvd@gvdcommercial.com
Sheldon Jackson - sheldon@selkirkdev.com
Dr. Jerry LeClaire M.D. - jxlec@mac.com
Dan Simonson, RN - dsimonson@mac.com
(Comments should be emailed to the six parties listed above.)