SPOKANE, Wash. – The City of Spokane will not be providing temporary pop-up shelters for unhoused people when their new 2026 inclement weather sheltering plan takes effect. Instead, they plan to “seek expanded capacity in existing programs.”
An announcement from the City of Spokane said that the 2026 plan will offer $1,000,000 to support inclement weather life safety measures, but that funding limitations means that setting up their own temporary shelters will not happen.
The funding will instead be used with local partners to expand capacity for shelters. The announcement cited the 2025 inclement weather plan as the basis for this decision.
“This flexible surge capacity is cost-effective, draws upon local partner expertise, and requests the community support the broad needs of inclement sheltering,” said the announcement.
Homeless service providers can submit applications at CHHS’s Notice of Funding Availability. City of Spokane is prioritizing shelters that can provide more than 10 additional beds, can support transportation needs of clients accessing surge capacity and have experience with emergency shelter operations.
Applications are due by 8:00 p.m. on July 31.
The 2026 Inclement Weather Plan was completed months ahead of its September 30 deadline.
“For the first time ever, we not only have a clear and comprehensive plan in place, we’re also opening applications months ahead of schedule,” Mayor Lisa Brown said. “When I took office, there was no coordinated plan, but we still managed to respond effectively last year. Over the past year and a half, our CHHS department has been doing the much-needed legwork to build out strong, proactive systems so that when the inevitable inclement weather hits, we’re ready.”
“CHHS is grateful to be able to offer this funding and deeply appreciates the strong partnerships with our local service providers. These partners consistently step up to meet the need and support our community when it matters most,” said Dawn Kinder, Director of Neighborhoods, Housing and Human Services.
