SPOKANE – City outreach teams are working through dozens of encampment sites across Spokane in a coordinated push to connect people with services and clear areas that neighbors say have become safety concerns.
In East Central, resident Phil Wacker says the changes are noticeable.
“Over the past month, the amount of people walking down the street has decreased a lot. There’ve been several camps up and down here, and it’s been nice to see some of it getting cleaned up,” Wacker said.
Wacker told NonStop Local the shift has changed how safe his family feels outside their home.
“I’ve been more comfortable letting my children out. Before, we’d wait in the car until people passed — but now we’ll let them come out of the gate to grab something from the vehicle.”
City leaders say that’s the goal of the stepped-up outreach — address problems earlier, connect people to services when appropriate, and reserve police for criminal activity.
Erin Hut, the City of Spokane’s Director of Communications and Marketing, said the city is separating cases so the right teams respond.
“The idea is by having these outreach teams go out and connect with folks, we’re able to separate those cases. Oftentimes it’s not a law enforcement response — it’s either a code response or an outreach response… so this frees up law enforcement to focus more on the crimes being committed and potentially get those folks connected to resources when that’s the right call,” Hut said.
As part of the effort, Spokane is preparing to roll out an update to its 311 system next week. The city says residents will be able to report issues like illegal camping, code complaints, graffiti and more by phone during operating hours, or through an online portal after hours. Requests will receive a case number and updates as they move through the system.
“311 is our help desk. It’s our customer service line. We have call takers ready to assist you — whether it’s paying a utility bill, reporting a code complaint, or asking for outreach support,” Hut said.
Wacker says he has used 311 with his neighbors in the past and saw results.
“If there was somebody causing trouble, we’d all call in to help get that taken care of… and usually within a couple weeks, that would be taken care of.”
City officials say the updated 311 platform is expected to go live early next week, making it easier for residents to report concerns and track when outreach or cleanup happens.
