Spokane County outlines PATH Diversion and Recovery Center expansion; $5.2M in county opioid settlement funds committed

Spokane County and regional partners presented project plans for the PATH Diversion and Recovery Center, an expansion of the Spokane Regional Stabilization Center (SRSC) that will add a 23‑hour crisis relief and sobering center intended to provide walk‑in and first responder drop‑off options outside hospital emergency rooms and jail.

Caitlin Roy, supervisor at the Spokane BHASO, said the existing SRSC campus at 1302 West Gardner opened in October 2021 and is operated under contract with Pioneer Human Services. Roy described three voluntary service levels currently provided at SRSC: withdrawal management (ASAM 3.7), co‑occurring residential treatment (ASAM 3.5) and mental health crisis stabilization. She emphasized services are voluntary and the facility cannot hold people involuntarily.

Ashley and project staff shared renderings and site plans locating the new facility adjacent to the county campus near Boone and Cedar Streets, with a single central intake point for triage and placement. The planned crisis relief model is chair‑based (state facility type) rather than bedded; presenters described 16 recliner chairs for crisis observation and 8 recliner chairs for sobering. They said the crisis relief and sobering services will be outpatient 23‑hour, 59‑minute services with limited flexibility for transfers when higher levels of care are needed.

Ashley said Spokane County and partners are funding the project with multiple sources: a $5,200,000 allocation of county opioid settlement dollars approved by the Board of County Commissioners, state appropriation funding, a pending federal request, local mental health sales tax, and contributions from other municipalities. She said design work was complete, that they anticipate an early‑spring groundbreaking with construction beginning in spring, and that they expect the expanded facility to be completed around 2027.

Presenters addressed operational questions: Pioneer currently provides food services at SRSC and the new facility will include a reheat area for meals; average lengths of stay for the chair‑based model were described as roughly 12–17 hours. Attendees from community programs (for example Passages' peer respite) said the PATH center could provide an important step between acute crisis care and peer respite or residential programs.

Project staff said licensing and certification of 23‑hour crisis relief centers follow state law (cited as Substitute Senate Bill 5120) and that they are coordinating with hospitals, mobile crisis teams and law enforcement to operationalize transfers and no‑refusal drop‑off for eligible adults.