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Spokane Valley outreach team reports housing placements but warns special funding runs out in June
Summary
Outreach contractor Frontier Behavioral Health and city outreach officers reported housing placements and extensive outreach contacts during the Jan–Mar quarter but said a special arrears fund used to clear past rental debts will expire in June, likely reducing near-term housing placements.
The Spokane Valley outreach team reported Wednesday that outreach efforts placed multiple people into housing during recent quarters but cautioned that a special fund used to clear rental arrears and pay transition costs will expire in June, likely reducing the program’s capacity to place people into housing.
Gretchen Brown, lead for the outreach team contracted through Frontier Behavioral Health, described quarterly outcomes and the funding sources that enabled placements. She said earlier quarters showed nine housing placements in each of the first two quarters covered in the packet and that the most recent quarter produced additional placements; the presenter referenced both “12” and “15” in the meeting while reporting the latest quarter’s placements.
Brown said outreach staff recorded 397 unduplicated individuals contacted in the most recent quarter and that the team offers intensive case management, mental-health and substance-use referrals, assistance obtaining IDs and benefits, and housing navigation. “We assess what services they need, case and we do, in-depth case management, intensive case management, housing, mental get them into mental health services,” Brown said.
She told the task force that about a year and a half ago the program received a pot of SUD-related funding to pay rental arrears and other costs; that funding allowed staff to negotiate reduced payoff amounts with landlords and clear debts that otherwise block people from renting. Brown said the funding “was about a hundred and 50,000” dollars and that it will be exhausted in June: “That money is done in June.”
The funding has been used for arrears, first month’s rent and security deposits, storage for vehicles or campers while people enter treatment, and up to six months of sober‑living costs where appropriate. Brown warned the task force that without those arrears funds the program’s housing numbers are likely to fall and suggested the task force could consider recommending new funding streams to the City Council.
Additional program notes: Brown described coordinated referrals to other providers — Family Promise for families with school‑aged children, Volunteers of America for youth under 24 and veteran services for veterans. Task force members also raised non‑funding barriers: limited treatment beds and lack of reliable pet‑boarding that prevents some clients from entering treatment.
Next steps: Brown and staff will continue to track placements and flagged the June funding expiration as the most immediate budget risk. The task force discussed options, including recommending county or council grant support to replenish arrears funding and exploring pet‑boarding partnerships to increase treatment uptake.
Provenance (selected transcript excerpts): Presentation of quarterly metrics and outreach model: “We have unduplicated individuals for the last quarter of 397 people that we've touched for any amount of resources.” Funding expiration warning: “That money is done in June.”
Ending: Staff asked the task force to consider whether to recommend reallocation or new resources to sustain current housing outcomes after the June funding expiration.
