Over the next two years Volunteers for America will be working on two expansion projects to advance homeless shelters in Spokane. These shelters are Hope House, a womens shelter, and Crosswalk, a teens shelter.
"Hope House, the womens shelter, will break ground next month in late September," says Fawn Schott, president and CEO of Volunteers of America. "We will be doubling our capacity and reman as a housing-focused shelter where we help women transition from being on the streets to permanent independent housing of their own."
Hope House currently can sleep 40 women and the expansion will allow for 100 women to stay overnight.
The teen shelter, Crosswalk, will be moving out of downtown and over to Spokane Community College.
"We really want those young people to be embedded on the community college campus, so they are really focusing on education and certificate programs that allow them to transition straight into livable wage jobs," Schott says.
Crosswalk will be moving but capacity will stay at about 20 people for overnight. However, they will be adding a floor of dormitory-style housing for people who are attending the community college.
Work will begin on the Hope House project this fall and is expected to finish in fall of 2020. Right after that project is finished, they plan to break ground on the new Crosswalk facility, with an anticipated completion in the fall of 2021.
