SPOKANE COUNTY, Wash. — The City of Spokane said on Friday afternoon that Jewels Helping Hands has met all the requirements to open the South Cannon Street warming center on Friday, but a Jewels spokesperson said the shelter won't open until Saturday.
It is the only warming center currently slated to open in Spokane this winter.
According to City of Spokane spokesperson Kirstin Davis, the warming shelter contract was approved and Jewels was allowed to open the warming center to 49 people on Friday.
Jewels Helping Hands Spokesperson Tanya Riordan said the shelter did not open Friday in part because they weren't sure if the city was going to sign the contract or not. Riordan said they planned to open Saturday afternoon.
There is only one section of the building that contractors have completed to code, Riordan said. She said that section has 12 beds and they will have space for 18 more mats.
Another much larger section will open soon but Riordan said the city's contractors have been taking weeks to make simple adjustments.
Riordan said the entire back half of the building still needs extensive renovations and they don't expect that area to be completed this winter, slowing their ability to house the 150 people the center is set to hold.
Davis said the center has a capacity of 49 people at first, which will then be expanded as city crews make more improvements to the facility to open up more space by mid-December. Davis said Jewels Helping Hands will need to provide a new capacity number once these renovations are done.
Jewels Helping Hands previously said it had concerns about opening the center with only one portion of the building ready on Nov. 22. Jewels Helping Hands said the city still needs to rewire an exit sign and replace an inward-swinging door with an outward-swinging door.
According to Jewels Helping Hands, the city said it ordered the door and it will be ready to be installed by mid-December.
South Cannon Street Warming Center
A city council ordinance passed in October allocated $740,000 for the warming center and outlined necessary improvements to the space. Jewels was awarded the contract by the city council.
City investigates Jewels after 'serious concern'
Jewels Helping Hands was previously asked by the city to vacate the center’s building on Nov. 8 after the city said it received a “serious concern” about one of the nonprofit’s leaders.
The warming center was officially slated to open in early November but city leaders pushed the opening to Nov. 22.
KREM later learned that the concern related to a first-degree attempted theft charge against founder Julie Garcia during her time with Spokane in-home care provider Comfort Keepers. The charge was dismissed in 2015 due to Garcia's chronic medical issues.
The city asked Jewel to leave the shelter on Friday, Nov. 8, but the nonprofit refused. The City of Spokane backtracked on its demand the next Monday.
Jewels Helping Hands was already required to obtain theft insurance after reports surfaced that the other co-founder, Jason Green, spent 2 1/2 years in prison for embezzling $100,000 from an organization in Southwest Washington.
Other shelters open in Spokane
City spokesperson Marlene Feist told KREM in October that the city is morphing its shelter plan by focusing less on warming centers and more on shelters operated by nonprofits that are funded in part by the city.
Last winter, the city made lease agreements with four warming centers that provided a total of about 200 beds.
Warming centers may not have all of the amenities of a shelter – for example, there may be mats instead of beds. Many warming centers also have limited hours while most shelters are open for most of the day.
After the 2018-2019 winter season, the city evaluated operations and learned about shortfalls that needed to be corrected for future warming centers and shelters, Davis said. The evaluation involved Spokane police and fire, the Spokane Regional Health District, and others associated with warming center operations.
"While the South Cannon street warming center will add additional adult capacity, there is still availability for adults in our system and our hope is that people will continue to utilize the shelter system to access safe sleeping space, services to address barriers, and housing-focused case management," Davis said.
A full list of services for people experiencing homelessness in Spokane is as follows:
Emergency Shelter:
- House of Charity – 32 W. Pacific Ave
- Hope House for Women – 111 W. 3rd Ave
- Crosswalk for Teens – 525 W. 2nd Ave
- YWCA Shelter for Domestic Violence (call 509-326-2255)
- Open Doors Family Shelter – 2002 E. Mission
- UGM Men’s Shelter – 1224 E. Trent
- UGM for Women & Children – 1515 E. Illinois Ave
Drop-In Day Centers:
- Women’s Hearth (for women) – 920 W. 2nd Ave
- City Gate – 170 S. Madison St.
- House of Charity – 32 W. Pacific Ave
- Cup of Cool Water (ages 24 & under) -1106 W. 2nd Ave
- Crosswalk for Teens – 525 W. 2nd Ave
- Open Doors for Families – 2002 E. Mission