Behind the Burlington Coat Factory on Broadway Avenue, Robbie endures the extreme cold after the first significant snowfall in Spokane Valley. Wearing sweats and gloves, and clutching the wool blanket tied around his neck like a cape, he stands guard over a shopping cart filled with his friends' belongings.
Now in his 40s, Robbie's current struggles are part of the latest climb on a rollercoaster of homelessness, addiction, unemployment, recovery, employment and relapse.
He's just one of more than 2,000 individuals experiencing homelessness in Spokane County, according to the 2024 point-in-time count. (Results from the most recent count in January aren't expected to be released until summer.)
"Once you get into it, it's really hard to get out of it," says Robbie, who asked to go only by his first name. "It's just the trap that you get into once you're homeless."
Yet, on this snowy day in early February, there is hope for Robbie: two people who spotted him and are willing to find him a warm bed and treatment if he's ready to accept.
Robbie tells Spokane Valley's homeless outreach police officer, Catherine Horton, and Frontier Behavioral Health case manager Shawn Humphries that he's heard of them from other homeless friends. He knows the two-person outreach team could help him but says he's not ready yet. He can't abandon his friends' stuff.
Robbie also tells Horton that his friend, who is disabled and has lost toes due to frostbite, has a couch for Robbie to sleep on if he helps with errands. Regardless, Horton offers her business card with her phone number for when Robbie is ready for help.
Horton and Humphries are part of Spokane Valley's homeless outreach team. Their mission is not punitive, not aimed at arresting. Instead, their goal is to be understanding, to let those who are homeless know they have options for shelter, food assistance, sobriety services and help obtaining proper identification.
Their team, which started in 2022 and expanded on Dec. 1, 2024, to provide outreach seven days a week, is composed of two Spokane Valley police officers and two Frontier case managers, who coordinate with Eric Robison, Spokane Valley's housing and homeless coordinator.
In January, the Spokane Valley City Council also approved a permanent Homeless and Housing Task Force, an advisory body to the City Council. The task force includes representatives from Central Valley School District and the Spokane Valley Chamber of Commerce, as well as Spokane County's homeless administrator, Mayor Pam Haley, and people who have experienced homelessness.
Collectively, the outreach team and task force will work to help individuals like Robbie as well as families struggling with homelessness find the resources they need to survive and hopefully prosper.
However, some residents have criticized the city's recent ordinances banning camping on public and private property, saying they clash with the goal of helping homeless individuals sleeping at parks or camping on a friend or relative's property.
HOMELESS OUTREACH TEAM
Horton grew up in a law enforcement family and had experience as a 911 dispatcher before becoming a Spokane County sheriff's deputy in 2020. Her first patrol district included the area around Sprague Avenue and Havana Street for the Spokane Valley Police Department, which the county sheriff's office operates.
Horton's patrol brought her directly in contact with homeless individuals. She saw firsthand the avalanche of problems they face.
"I was already contacting people who were homeless, and honestly, a lot of the time, they're just down on their luck," Horton says. "It feels like when one thing tumbles, everything else tumbles for them."
When the position opened up to become a homeless outreach officer in fall 2024, Horton saw an opportunity to do more good. She had no idea of the resources available for homeless people but looked forward to doing her job with compassion and care.
Humphries shared a similar sentiment. He moved to Spokane in June 2024 and had previously worked in case management. Humphries says he wanted to make an impact for the children he mentors in track and field sports by ensuring they had safe spaces to thrive without visible substance use happening at the fields and parks they play on.
The outreach team meets clients where they're at. They keep track of potential encampments or where someone may be sheltering.
This is how, on a late Wednesday morning this month, the team knows to drop by a location known for camping, where they find a well-constructed shack hidden near the train tracks.
The shack is covered in snow, but a black plastic covering prevents leaking. Tucked between trees and a sloping hill, the structure is made of plywood and wood framing. There's even a door with a handle and foam insulation lining to keep the cold out.
Horton and Humphries knock on the door, asking to speak with whoever is inside. A voice answers, "It's JT or Joshua," and Horton politely asks if JT could come to the shack's entrance.
The two remember JT from previous interactions. Humphries says they run into many of the same people and will consistently, but without trying to force anyone, offer them help.
JT pops his head out the door and lights a cigarette; the smell of a scented candle wafts out from inside the warmly lit structure. JT says he's a Marine veteran suffering from epilepsy and post-traumatic stress disorder.
He tells the team that he applied for Social Security disability and needs support filling out paperwork and following up with other benefits, including veteran housing.
"I've been pushing them at DSHS because nobody's getting back to me from the veteran [office] or anything," JT says. "That way, I push both sides as much as I can, and maybe I push hard enough that one of them will kick in."
"I'm all about putting your eggs in multiple baskets," Horton says. "We're going to schedule an appointment, and I want you to be there."
"I stay within my zone because of my seizures because if I have one, I like to be where I am now," JT says.
"Do you think you could be at that food bank tomorrow on University and Broadway?" Horton asks. "We gotta get you started on where you're at with your Social Security and where your application's at, and maybe we need to redo it, OK?"
"Can you write it down because I will forget," JT says.
Humphries calls to tell staff members at the food bank to expect JT and informs them what his needs are, including the potential benefits he might apply for based on today's discussion. His role requires him to know different sources of support services for every unique situation to best match individuals with what they can qualify for.
"Sometimes we ask, and they really are at a spot where they feel like they don't need us, and we can kind of press it a little bit," Humphries says."But at the end of the day, we're here just to be a hand that's offered out."
As Horton and Humphries continue their outreach, they spot a man walking with his bag of possessions and his sleeping bag wrapped around him as he heads west on Sprague Avenue.
The man seems to be dealing with a mental illness and provides several different names to the outreach team. Horton takes down one of the names, Jameson — her goal is not to question his truthfulness, but to see if he needs somewhere to stay.
The man says he's been out in the cold, sleeping under bridges and hasn't slept in a warm bed in over a month — when he last had a hotel room.
"I spent all of January under the bridge in Lewiston, and then I came here, but it's been rough the last couple nights, I just been out on the street," he says. "I just couldn't find a bridge that it doesn't rain on me."
As he explains his homeless situation over the past 12 years, Humphries and Horton work quickly to make calls. They find him a place to stay, provide him a bus pass and instruct him on what to do once he arrives at the shelter in Spokane.
"I went ahead and called Truth Ministries for you, and they have two beds available," Horton says. "When you knock on the door, just say, 'Hey, I'm so and so, and I'm from the Valley,' and let them know that you spoke to me, and now you have a bed."
The excitement on the man's face is evident: He's glad that for tonight he won't have to wonder where he'll rest his head.
CITY RULES
Spokane Valley pays Truth Ministries to keep two beds secured for its homeless residents. The beds are paid for with money from the state's Homeless Housing and Assistance Act, or HHAA.
In 2023, Spokane Valley took control of the city's HHAA funds, which come from a surcharge on real estate document recording fees to the county. As a condition of taking control of Spokane Valley-specific fees, the city was required to create a homeless and housing task force.
The city started with an interim task force, and the City Council adopted the permanent task force on Jan. 14, expanding it from seven to nine positions, including non-voting roles for a city of Spokane representative and a staff member assigned by the Spokane Valley city manager.
According to City Services Administrator Gloria Mantz, HHAA funds generated $300,000 in 2024 for the city, which also receives an average of $200,000 annually from the city's share of a state supportive housing sales tax.
Those funds must go toward affordable and supportive housing, and the city's Homeless and Housing Department led by Robison. The advisory task force helps guide City Council decisions on how to best utilize the money.
Spokane County collects the HHAA funds, but Spokane and Spokane Valley currently manage their own portions of the revenue.
While the city is ramping up its work to support those who are homeless, it is also strengthening its anti-camping laws. Residents expressed concerns about two ordinances that could impact those struggling with housing insecurity, as well as those who simply want to camp in their backyard with their grandchildren.
In November, the City Council voted to make it a misdemeanor to be in a city park after designated hours, instead of an infraction. The council also updated the city code to allow law enforcement to use motorized vehicles such as utility terrain vehicles on city trails and in city parks to enforce the ordinance.
Additionally, in January, the City Council directed city staff to update the municipal code regulating camping on private property. The ordinance prohibits camping on private property within city limits, with exceptions. It allows short-term, 48-hour camping periods on private property and in recreational vehicles with temporary use permits, but ultimately restricts camping on private property to no more than 14 days in a calendar year.
However, Mantz and Robison say there is room for law enforcement discretion with both camping bans. Mantz says the private property rule allows the city and officers to address safety concerns, and is not aimed at taking away residents' property rights.
"One of the challenges that we have is that camping on private property has been an issue for us, and we get complaints about safety issues," Mantz says. "Somebody's camping and has a fire, and we're unable to address it because we haven't had the tools."
Robison says that officers have discretion in various situations where individuals violate the public camping code.
"Yes, you can't just sleep on public property, but we have flexibility in how we enforce that to make sure that we can get to a positive outcome if possible," Robison says. "I think the city has recognized that we need some flexibility if we want positive outcomes."
For example, someone sleeping in a vehicle on a publicly owned property, like a neighborhood street, is violating the city code. But if they're working to get housed or moved into sober living, officers can confirm the details and decide not to tow the vehicle or issue a misdemeanor charge that would only set the person's progress back.
Horton extensively records her interactions with homeless individuals, allowing other officers and service providers to see if someone is actively seeking help and services, and may just need a break before they transition to a stable situation.
Oftentimes, someone down on their luck is trying to get help, and discretion on when to enforce ordinances is key to small wins, Horton says. She acknowledges that some days are better than others with successes and failures, but the small wins are always significant.
One of the first people to have a successful outcome with Horton's help was a man in the Dishman Hills area who failed to check in with the Department of Corrections and had a warrant out for his arrest.
Through a collective effort, the outreach team helped the man receive substance use treatment, which let him complete his three-month sobriety program, and he is now training to be a plumber.
"So this guy who had nothing, now is going to get everything; he's going to get his kid back," Horton says. "So I constantly remind myself that you just have to be patient and persistent with them. It may not be their time now, but it will be one day." ♦
