Transitional housing center among Providence 2022 community benefit recipients

A stately brick building in northwest Spokane once served as an 1890s orphanage. Today, it holds Transitions’ Transitional Living Center – updated with 16 apartments for women and children who are homeless.

Last year, it provided housing for 47 children. A family stays an average of 13-18 months with support services, from child care to job assistance. The center also got a significant boost in 2022 – $30,000 from Providence Health Care’s Inland Northwest services.

Although Transitions runs several programs, Providence gave the rare-sized grant to the center specifically, said Sarah Lickfold, Transitions executive director. The center’s annual operating budget is about $600,000.

“It’s huge – $30,000 – when you’re talking about not having a regular funding source for transitional housing,” Lickfold said. “It’s a significant private grant that you don’t find very often. Usually, you’re kind of scraping by with a $5,000 grant here or there – $10,000 if you’re lucky.”

Providence Health Care reported it invested $189 million last year to improve the health of communities in Eastern Washington, which included a grant program totaling $5 million. The Transitions center is among dozens of services in Spokane and Stevens counties that received grants.

Providence’s community benefit total last year also included covering unpaid Medicaid costs in the region, totaling nearly $122 million.

At Transitions, the center offers one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments, including six managed by Volunteers of America as a partner, Lickfold said. Mostly, families are referred by Homeless Family Coordinated Assessment, YWCA and Lutheran Community Services Northwest.

The center isn’t just for women fleeing domestic violence, Lickfold said, but a majority have experienced that. Families are asked to pay 30% of their income for an apartment. There are no government subsidies for transitional housing, Lickfold said, and families can stay even without income.

“Transitional housing is a best practice for homeless services, and for women fleeing domestic violence, but there aren’t a lot of funding sources out there currently,” Lickfold added. “HUD lists this as a best practice, but they removed funding for it about five or six years ago.

“We’re always looking for support. We’ve got staff, facility costs… There is no subsidized housing for transitional housing, so a $30,000 grant can help subsidize those units.”

The center gets some income from a multiyear federal grant, city of Spokane’s Community, Housing and Human Services, private grants, donations and regular support from Dominican Sisters of Sinsinawa. Formerly Dominican Sisters of Spokane, that group opened the building for women and children’s transitional housing in 1993.

The center soon went to Transitions, formed in 1995.

Transitional housing with built in services provides a level of support for people experiencing homelessness that keeps their situations from worsening, Lickfold said.

“The folks we serve could very easily end up in the hospital system, costing dollars upon dollars if they’re homeless and don’t have anywhere to go to get better,” Lickfold said. “Children experiencing homelessness are going to have repercussions for years whether it’s mental, physical or a combination.

Susan Stacey, Inland Northwest Providence chief executive, said a community health needs assessment is done every three years. Grants might be $100 or larger, but the overall funding is purposely budgeted.

The recipient agencies provide services in the community that may not be seen as traditional hospital-based services, Stacey said, but they meet health-minded goals.

“The services are so important to sustain our community, and they tie into our community health care needs assessment, so areas like supporting families who are going through child abuse, domestic violence, homelessness,” Stacey said.

Not-for-profit hospitals organize community benefit programs that provide free or discounted health services and help improve care and access. Community benefit reports also are part of IRS tax-exemption standards.

Other community benefits provided by Providence Inland Northwest in 2022 included: $20 million in free and discounted health for the uninsured and underinsured, $10.5 million for subsidized health services and $32 million for research and education.

Stacey said subsidized health services, such as specialized pediatrics, psychiatric services and women’s health, operate at a known loss but are critical.

Its grants might fund multiyear projects, such as the Providence Playscape at Riverfront Park, for a range of physical and social needs to support cognitive and sensory development.

Its 2022 grants included about $3,000 for a Stevens County summer kids food program in Chewelah, Stacey said, and funding for a business toolkit and training program for Spokane-area employers and co-workers to recognize the signs of domestic violence.

“Supporting specific organizations is something we do uniquely here,” Stacey said. “Despite financial challenges, we have maintained our grants to the same level. I know people hear a lot about hospitals struggling financially, and that is a true. We still need to be supporting our community. That is a clear mission.”