SPOKANE, Wash. – Mayor Lisa Brown issued an emergency declaration, which the City of Spokane said is meant to speed up implementation of the before SNAP benefits expire.
The , as well as the updated “Safe and Accessible Spaces” ordinance, mean the demand for safe places for people to go is expected to grow quickly, said the city.
Declaring a state of emergency allows the city to skip its normal contracting process, which allows it to move funds faster than it normally would.
The city said that during the emergency state it plans to fund 50 additional shelter beds, expedite eviction prevention contracts and fund mobile medication assisted treatment for police, the navigation center and street outreach teams.
According to Spokane City Councilmember Shelby Lambin, one in five Spokane County residents rely on SNAP benefits.
The SNAP benefits use federal funds, which will .
“The looming threat of SNAP benefits ending also means that many in our community are going to have to choose between food or rent,” Mayor Brown said. “This emergency declaration ensures we have flexibility to respond quickly, keep people safe and sheltered, and maintain our focus on connecting people to services and housing.”
Additionally, the updated “Safe and Accessible Spaces” ordinance allows Spokane police officers to .
The vote amongst city council members and was commended by some, but critics of the ordinance say that it fails to provide displaced homeless people with a place to go.
The Ordinance added several sections to Spokane Municipal Code, one section in the Purposes portion of the code, deals with enforcement, stating “In enforcement of this article, the intent of the council is to have graduated consequences for repeat offenders.”
But the ordinance does not specify what those graduated consequences are.
According to a representative from the Spokane City Council, the decision to not include the graduated consequences is the result of consultation with the City Attorney’s office and is the result of several Washington laws and court cases.
Mayor Brown said during her press conference on Monday that more information about the enforcement of the ordinance will be presented by Spokane Police Chief Kevin Hall in the near future.
In a press release, the city also said it anticipates designating new encampment resolution sites in the coming weeks.
Mayor Brown is also establishing a community program to utilize donations from the local community to provide housing and other resources for people who are homeless or at-risk of becoming homeless, according to the City of Spokane. The program is meant to be similar to .
