SPOKANE, Wash. — The City of Spokane has opened a new homeless shelter for LGBTQ+ individuals in a North Hill church – a move that, so far, the congregation and a member of the area’s neighborhood council have supported.
Since it opened in North Hill Christian Church about two weeks ago, The Aurora Center has offered wraparound services aimed at transitioning people to permanent housing. Pastor Chris Snow said he welcomes the opportunity for the church to help out.
“It makes me feel really excited that we have done the work within the congregation to talk about what the needs are of this community,” Snow said. “People that are children of God, that we want to have a safe space to be. And we’re happy to be that safe space.”
The new shelter is part of the city’s wider effort to distribute homeless shelters throughout Spokane in a “scattered site” model. It offers 15 emergency, overnight beds and services including medical care, substance use disorder treatment and housing placement.
Snow said all the beds have been full for at least the last week.
The shelter is the result of a partnership between the city, the church and Jewels Helping Hands. The nonprofit organization reached out to the church in January, Snow said, asking to convert the space it was using for offices into a shelter. The plan was then approved by church board members.
Snow said he hasn’t received any pushback from congregation members, and minimal pushback from neighbors.
Scot Webb is the vice chair of the North Hill Neighborhood Council. He said the council found out about the shelter a week or two ago.
He hasn’t heard much negative feedback from his fellow neighbors, but he isn’t sure people know about the shelter. Webb said he supports the shelter as long as the guests “treat the neighborhood with respect.”
“This is not a ‘not my neighborhood’ situation,” Webb said. “If that’s gonna help those individuals get to the next phase in their life and hopefully help them out, let’s do that.”
Webb said the council will discuss the shelter at its next meeting on Thursday. The council will decide whether it has an opinion on the shelter and select a member to serve as a liaison.
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