SPOKANE, Wash. – With only a few weeks until the end of the year and contracts to operate the Trent Resource and Assistance Center (TRAC) set to expire with it, Spokane City Council members unanimously approved a new contract to keep the city’s largest homeless shelter running while its long-term future is likely debated early next year.
“This is still complicated, it has not been solved,” said Council President Betsy Wilkerson. “This is a band aid until we get more data and [decide] how we move forward and how we fund it, but we do not want anyone on the streets, as much as a city can prevent that.”
The $3.7 million contract with the shelter’s current operator, Spokane’s Salvation Army, runs through the end of next April.
“In order to solve some of these very complex issues, we as a provider need to link arms with others who care deeply about the people we serve,” said Spokane Salvation Army Captain David Cain.
Revive Counseling also received a contract extension to continue to provide services to shelter guests at TRAC through the end of April.
“TRAC is a much better place,” Chris Shuller with Revive told council members during public comment. “With Revive’s services, they always have a safe space, people to lean on and talk to and people who recognize them as people.”
A few members of the public urged the council to consider more options in their homelessness response going forward during the public comment period of Thursday’s special session.
Council Member Jonathan Bingle acknowledged a majority of the money in the city’s shelter system is going towards TRAC, adding that’s been a main focus of discussions surrounding the organization of a regional homeless authority.
“What we want to do and what we need to do is be as effective with these dollars as we can be, and I look forward to many more conversations in the future,” Bingle said. “It’s absolutely essential to help as many people as possible [who are] transitioning from homelessness to stability.”
Council Member Zack Zappone said he’s looking forward to starting this next contract, but says he’s still heard frustrations from the community about the process and the shelter itself.
“This contract doesn’t resolve those frustrations, but I’m looking forward to the next steps to resolve those,” Zappone said.
With its operator contract only on the books through next April, TRAC’s long-term future remains up in the air–especially as Spokane Mayor-Elect Lisa Brown assumes office on the first of the year.
Brown has stated her intent to evaluate the city’s shelter system as a whole and potentially make some changes to it, though it’s unclear at this point what those changes might look like.
