Spokane: CAT’s new facility won’t be homeless shelter despite 16 beds
(The Center Square) – One of Spokane’s behavioral health providers is moving out of downtown amid efforts to disperse services, but some on the city council are skeptical over the terms of the move.
During a Monday committee meeting, the elected officials discussed relocating Compassionate Addiction Treatment, or CAT. Dawn Kinder, director of Spokane’s Neighborhoods, Housing and Human Services Division, briefed the officials on a memorandum of understanding that would dictate the city’s relationship with CAT for the next 25 years if approved.
Under the memorandum of understanding, Spokane would spend roughly $1.87 million in pandemic relief to purchase a new facility for CAT in the Chief Garry Park neighborhood. The new location would sport a 16-bed sobering center, available upon referral, and outpatient services for roughly 45 people.
The catch is that the agreement prohibits CAT from offering transitional housing or an emergency/homeless shelter without permission from the city and a new agreement.
“If CAT continues providing those services, they will be required to repay the city,” Kinder said.
That provision caused some confusion with the council’s conservative members, as the 16-bed sobering center sounds similar to a homeless shelter. Still, the agenda packet specifically said, “CAT is a licensed behavioral health agency … CAT is not a homeless shelter or day center.”
Spokane’s Communication Director Erin Hut told The Center Square that CAT’s situation is unique because the sobering center is available to anyone upon the proper referral. That includes both people who are housed and homeless; therefore, it’s not an emergency shelter.
“Recovery beds serve house and unhoused individuals and [are] licensed by the State for behavioral health,” Hut wrote in an email. “Homeless shelters are not the same, they are not licensed the [state], they are not required to provide behavioral health services.”
During the meeting, Councilmember Michael Cathcart voiced his concerns with the memorandum, specifically around code compliance given understaffing. He feels that CAT and similar services are disproportionately placed in his district, which includes Chief Garry Park.
He raised an issue with the relocation process that bypassed a competitive Request for Proposals; additionally, the fact that there was no list provided of properties for consideration, despite Spokane’s comprehensive plan stating that the services need to be dispersed.
“This has probably been one of the most opaque processes I’ve ever witnessed since I’ve been on this council and probably long before that,” Cathcart said. “I’ve asked for weeks to understand the process this has gone though, [and I’ve] gotten no response.”
Cathcart wants to mandate a good neighbor agreement between CAT, the city and Chief Garry Park to ensure that the facility doesn’t have an overwhelming impact on the existing community; but while the agreement does require various meetings with the city and neighborhoods, it does not mandate a good neighbor agreement, though the agenda says CAT would endeavor to do so.
The city typically requires good neighbor agreements but not for privately owned facilities. Later that evening, the council deferred an ordinance from Cathcart that would’ve modified the code to require the agreements for city-funded facilities.
“Where’s the accountability and code compliance for the existing locations? City Gate, it’s a camp; almost all the time, it’s a camp,” he said. “When have we ever truly enforced the law, and why would we start now?”
The city council will likely vote over whether to approve the MOU during a legislative meeting in the coming weeks. Councilmember Jonathan Bingle said if the memorandum is approved, CAT would be the sixth provider in that neighborhood.
