Press Coverage
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February 22, 2021
Behavioral Health Funding for Washington Homeless Youth in Jeopardy
The Imprint
When Spokane’s Crosswalk teen shelter hired behavioral health counselor Kaitlyn Lee last year with money from a new state grant, part of her job was to shoot pool in the common room with the teenagers. Hanging around, eating lunch with the residents, or simply making herself available by sitting at the front desk is an important part of the job of a counselor...
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February 1, 2021
A stable life: Support widens to prevent youth homelessness in the state
The Spokesman-Review
Each year in Washington state, about 1,800 young adults find themselves unstably housed within a year of leaving a publicly funded system such as foster care or a criminal justice facility...
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December 16, 2020
How some Christmas Bureau volunteers were honored for their efforts in spite of this year’s changes
The Spokesman-Review
Employees at Volunteers of America are traversing the area this week dropping off gift bags with book-themed cupcakes to say thank you to their volunteers who usually staff the book tables at the Christmas Bureau.
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November 15, 2020
Washington State Program Aims to End Youth Homelessness in Four Counties By End of Next Year
The Imprint
Spokane County is one of four counties participating in Washington state’s Anchor Community Initiative, designed to help young people like Elsa.
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October 30, 2020
Hope House readies new shelter, supportive housing for 2021
The Spokesman-Review
Hope House still needs more than a few finishing touches, but Volunteers of America leaders can begin to see the emergency shelter as a future home, for more than 100 women who are homeless and the staff who will serve them.
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October 29, 2020
360 Coverage: Spokane VolunteerFest
KHQ-Q6
Spokane, Wash. - Spokane comes together as a community to help out with this first ever Volunteerfest.
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February 15, 2019
Funding secured for new women's shelter in downtown Spokane
KXLY
SPOKANE, Wash. - Women fleeing abusive relationships, struggling with addiction or mental illness have found safety for 20 years inside Hope House -- a shelter operated by Volunteers of America.
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May 4, 2019
Bursting at the seams: Crosswalk Teen shelter plans move to new facility, secures $1 million in first round of funding
The Spokesman-Review
Inside Crosswalk Teen Shelter – Spokane’s oldest emergency youth shelter – there’s a common area on the first floor no bigger than a school lunch room. It’s a space of all trades, jack of none: eat, learn, make friends, play and even sleep. Flanked by rows of hideaway beds that look like large white wardrobes, when the sun goes down, so too do the metal furniture handles near the top, revealing 18 hideaway beds. “We’re just bursting at the seams,” said Fawn Schott, president and CEO of Volunteers of America, which runs the shelter. “We have no more space.”
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June 29, 2019
Spokane to lose 100 shelter beds for women, children and families in July
The Spokesman-Review
The city had $30 million to spend on homeless and housing programs. Catholic Charities, Open Doors and Volunteers of America’s Crosswalk teen shelter were three of 24 programs that received less funding than they had previously. Twenty-one other programs received the same level of funding or more for homeless services.
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May 1, 2015
Agencies collaborate to build housing for chronically homeless
The Fig Tree
With federal and state tax credit project support for Housing First for chronically homeless people, Catholic Charities of Spokane and Volunteers of America of the Inland Northwest are collaborating to build two neighboring 50-unit permanent supportive housing facilities on the 200 block of East Second Ave. in Spokane...
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April 12, 2015
Housing First approach puts stable shelter at top of the list
The Spokesman-Review
Spokane is about to undergo a major expansion of Housing First projects. Catholic Charities will break ground on another 50-unit housing project this spring – right next door to a similar project by Volunteers of America. And those are just the first of several projects... “Our goal is by 2019 we will have a unit for every chronically homeless person in Spokane.”...
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March 20, 2015
Spokane volunteer uses skateboards to fight homelessness
KREM-2
A lot of the force behind Crosswalk is volunteer-driven. Many of those volunteers are actually kids who used to go to Crosswalk too. One of those kids grew up to be a man who tries to be as involved in helping out the community as much as possible...
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March 11, 2015
Spokane conference addresses difficult topic of suicide
The Spokesman-Reveiw
Jenny Shea, center, a volunteer at Volunteers of America, listens to a panel discussion about preventing suicide among young people Tuesday at Gonzaga University. Shea works with older teens in the foster care system. The daylong conference included discussions about effective programs, multistate coordination and counseling techniques...
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February 13, 2015
Spokane program seeking homeless veterans
KHQ
A local program is having a hard time finding homeless veterans who need a helping hand. Supportive Services for Veteran Families, or SSVF, came to Spokane in October 2013 through the Goodwill, Volunteers of America and Transitions in this program...
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February 5, 2015
Spokane artist gives back by giving away art
KREM-2
"I've been homeless," Stevenson said, "and agencies here in Spokane helped me get off the streets. This is my way of paying it forward." Stevenson said all the food he gets will be given to the Martin Lither King Community Center, Volunteers of America, and Healthcare for Homeless Veterans...
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January 15, 2015
Agency-Funded Scholarships Can Help Homeless Youth Finish College
Federal Bureau of Family & Youth Services
To help homeless youth overcome common barriers to earning their degrees, Volunteers of America of Eastern Washington & Northern Idaho awards college scholarships with an unusual level of flexiblity....
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December 17, 2014
Crosswalk Outreach team helps homeless kids in Spokane by hitting the streets
KHQ
For around 4 hours, 5 days a week, Meg Tapiz and her team of outreach workers hit the streets of Spokane. "This is so real" Tapiz says. She's referring to the issue of homeless kids out on the streets. "Some people assume that they are troubled high school kids and they don't realize that no, they are actually sleeping in the camp under the Monroe bridge."...
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October 19, 2014
Work Ready Program builds a bridge for youth employment
Coeur d'Alene Press
Work Ready is a Crosswalk of North Idaho program where youth are given the opportunity to experience a positive work environment with supportive mentors. "We are building a bridge that walks them across to becoming a successful employee in a productive workforce," said Punit Dave, employment advocate and community liaison for the program...
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October 9, 2014
Home Depot volunteers renovate home for veterans
The Spokesman-Review
On Tuesday, that house received a makeover thanks to the Home Depot Foundation. Part of its Celebration of Service, volunteers from Home Depot stores across the country are renovating 1,000 homes between Sept. 11 and Veterans …
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October 1, 2014
Spokane Stake steps up to support neighbors on a special Day of Service
The Latter-day Sentinel
Approximately 550 volunteers from the Spokane Stake donated time refurbishing and cleaning at local social service nonprofits--including Crosswalk and Hope House--on Sept. 13 as part of the National Day of Service. In addition to the work, volunteers visited with residents at the various sites...
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October 8, 2014
Volunteers of America finishes renovating home for homeless vets
KXLY-4
Volunteers of America teamed up with Home Depot to help renovate a house that serves homeless veterans and after three years, $39,000 and over 200 volunteers they finally added the finishing touches Wednesday. VOA uses the house for their program Rest and Recoup...
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July 2, 2014
Luke Baumgarten: What the Sunday Bazaar taught me about street kids
The Inlander
We've been told by business leaders and politicians that street kids deter commerce and pose a public nuisance. These kids, we're told, have rejected our notions of community and scoffed at our laws. Here's an alternate theory: Street kids live outside our community because we have never invited them in...
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May 28, 2014
A place for everyone
The Inlander
Despite crime statistics that showed it wasn't any more dangerous than in previous years, downtown's reputation took a beating last summer. After public pressure about crime and loitering young adults in downtown, Mayor David Condon formed a task force to address the issue by the time temperatures began to warm this year...
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March 1, 2014
Wacky hair, dirty clothes dissuade volunteers until they see only scared kids at Crosswalk teen shelter
The Fig Tree
When Bridget Cannon first began volunteering with Spokane’s Crosswalk teen shelter of Volunteers of America 20 years ago, she felt intimidated by the street kids and runaways with weird piercings, "wackadoodle" hair and bad attitudes...
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December 12, 2013
Gifts for organizations making a difference
The Inlander
It's easy to get caught up in the hustle and warm nostalgia of Christmastime, forgetting to look past the mall Santas and fake greenery to the underlying meaning of the season — giving to those who have so little. Instead of stressing over how to budget all the big-ticket items for everyone on your list, consider a gift to a nonprofit...
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December 1, 2013
Street kids hand out sack lunches downtown
The Fig Tree
One afternoon recently, eight homeless teens from the Crosswalk shelter made about 300 sack lunches with sandwiches, chips, an apple and cookies. They took the sandwiches to hand out to people at the bus plaza...
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October 31, 2013
Spokane announces warming center locations including Crosswalk, Hope House
KXLY-4
The winter needs of our community go beyond the snow and ice accumulation on our streets; we’re also deeply concerned about the needs of homeless people who may not have a way to get warm during extreme winter weather...
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October 16, 2013
Crosswalk North Idaho suffers big funding loss
Coeur d'Alene Press
Crosswalk North Idaho has lost an annual $101,000 federal grant which will seriously reduce its services to area youths. Now the number of days of operation of the drop-in center will be cut back and a 24-hour emergency shelter program for youths will be eliminated...
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October 1, 2013
Home schooling: Alexandria’s House teaches teen moms the art of mothering
InHealth Magazine
In 1980, a terrified 18-year-old named Jill Staples gave birth to a little girl she named Erin. And she had no idea what to do. "I didn't know how it was going to work out. I didn't know how I was going to support her," Staples says. "I didn't know how in the world I was going to do this with a baby."...
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August 20, 2013
All in the family
The Inlander
More children in Spokane County are being abused and neglected. But some families have managed to break the cycle...
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July 14, 2013
Home Depot Pours Millions of Dollars Into Housing for Veterans
The Chronicle of Philanthropy
Home Depot has committed more than $80-million and volunteer time from its workers to repair housing for veterans including two homes in Spokane...
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April 30, 2013
Planting a brighter future: Educational "gathering garden" taking route with help of Work Ready youth
Coeur d'Alene Press
Community Roots, a program of Kootenai Environmental Alliance, is partnering with NIC to build the garden on a neglected vacant lot on the school's property. What's considered a "brown field" now is being transformed into what will be called the "Gathering Garden." The garden site is on the east side of Hubbard Street, near the roundabout at College Drive...
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March 2, 2013
Getting youth ready for work: Work Ready offers training for 16 to 21-year-olds
Coeur d'Alene Press
Brandi Smitherman wanted to change the fate of the many teens she comes to know at Crosswalk North Idaho. Smitherman, the director of the Coeur d'Alene-based outreach program and drop-in center for at-risk youth, had grown tired of watching kids with potential turn 18, age out of the program formerly known as Project Safe Place, and have no support, resources or skills to help them find employment and become financially independent...
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April 10, 2012
Lisa Bliss delivers "No Failure in Trying" TEDx talk at Saint George's School
YouTube
Lisa Bliss walks on stage with a cart adorned with the local non-profits logo for Crosswalk. It looks like something you'd attach to the back of a bicycle for a long trip. She used it for a long trip, but it wasn't attached to a bicycle. She dragged the cart all the way to the summit of Mount Whitney in California, the highest summit in the United States...
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February 27, 2012
City of Spokane opens Hope House and Crosswalk as warming shelters tonight
The Spokesman-Review
The City of Spokane has activated its Homeless Warming Center program due to cold weather. The centers are not set up for lodging but provide shelter for the homeless for brief intervals during extreme cold weather...
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January 19, 2012
Mead woman in it for long run to raise funds for Crosswalk
The Spokesman-Review
In July, Bliss became the first woman and second person ever to cross Death Valley and ascend Mount Whitney completely self-supported. Bliss had something to prove – to herself and to the teens at Crosswalk. Through her run, Bliss raised $10,000 for Crosswalk’s GED fund...
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January 19, 2012
City boosts funds for social service grants to nonprofits
The Spokesman-Review
For more than a decade, Spokane’s political leaders have said they shared the goal of providing 1 percent of the city’s budget to social service agencies. For more than a decade, the city hasn’t met that goal. On Tuesday, the Spokane City Council allocated $898,000 of its $164 million 2012 general fund budget to 22 nonprofit agencies...
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December 17, 2011
Nurturing niche: Handing out children’s books a welcome change of pace for CEO
The Spokesman-Review
For 10 days each December, Marilee Roloff stands behind the neat stacks of children’s books at the Christmas Bureau, helping to give them away...
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June 22, 2011
Free Fall: How the safety net for homeless in Spokane is being destroyed
The Inlander
More weight than ever is being put on the region’s safety net, and that net shows signs of fraying. Hope House, Spokane’s only shelter for single women, had to manage with $40,000, or about 10 percent, less this year...
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April 21, 2011
Ex foster children rise above to enroll in college, aid others
The Spokesman-Review
Justin Vinge, Josephine Davis and Mariah Hottell have a lot in common. These Spokane Falls Community College students are former foster youth who are proving their detractors wrong...
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April 1, 2011
"Our Kids" effort celebrates fifth anniversary
The Spokesman-Review
Behind the event this year, as every year, are two of Spokane’s social services stalwarts: Mary Ann Murphy, executive director of Partners with Families and Children: Spokane; and Marilee Roloff, president and CEO of the regional chapter of Volunteers of America...
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March 9, 2011
Dropout Crisis: Why so few Spokane students make it through high school—and what's being done to help them
The Inlander
Josh Randall, a lanky 20-year-old with brown hair and a wispy beard, is surrounded by dropouts. He’s sitting at a table in a noisy room at Crosswalk, a teen shelter in downtown Spokane that doubles as a school for kids pursuing their GEDs...
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February 28, 2011
Teacher at Crosswalk Teen Shelter helps struggling students
The Spokesman-Review
Teacher Ken Jernberg is unflappable among the chaos at Crosswalk, a Spokane teen homeless shelter. One day last week, a few unfocused teens flitted around the shelter’s school rooms while other students bombarded Jernberg with questions or requests...
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January 20, 2011
Program helps young adults aging out of foster care system
The Spokesman-Review
For teens aging out of the foster care system, turning 18 can be frightening. Bridget Cannon, director of youth services at Volunteers of America, said, “Statistically, the majority end up homeless.”..
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December 13, 2010
Liberty Lake congregation brings Christmas cheer to Hope House
The Latter-day Sentinel
As part of a humanitarian service project, members of the Liberty Lake Ward in the Spokane Valley Stake donated clothing, quilts and hygiene items to Hope House, a shelter for homeless women downtown Spokane...
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December 13, 2010
Book smarts: When it comes to kids’ literary wishes, Volunteers of America has it covered
The Spokesman-Review
Tana Carosella, 67, stood ready behind stacks of books at the Christmas Bureau, greeting parents and asking their children’s ages and interests...
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May 11, 2006
Humor, tenacity all in a day’s work for Volunteers of America CEO
The Spokesman-Review
Lovable “Knuffle Bunny” was drying out on a tabletop, next to the wavy and waterlogged pages of “Gilbert the Great” and “The Ants Go Marching.” Yet Marilee Roloff remained surprisingly sanguine...
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September 29, 2010
Failing Our Kids: the human cost of dropping out
KXLY-4
Homeless, on the streets and down but not out, Rose found Crosswalk, which helped her get back on her feet and get her GED with honors at 21. But, life is still hard for Rose…
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May 1, 2010
VOA Thrift Store opens in new location
Fig Tree
Volunteers of America’s Thrift Store is back in business after the roof of its former store on North Atlantic collapsed under the weight of snow in the winter of 2009. It has reopened in a new location at 6206 E. Trent Ave. in Spokane Valley…
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April 8, 2010
Breaking cycle of poverty with teen moms
KXLY
Auctashia has been able to build a life for herself and one-year-old Athaelya. She now lives in Aston-Bleck Apartments, transitional housing for young moms run by Volunteers of America. Moms get schooling and work while they stay there.
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December 15, 2005
Hope House volunteer: The homeless deserve respect
The Easterner (Eastern Washington University)
I was born with a silver spoon in my mouth, although until quite recently I had never realized it. I was raised to believe that everyone has an equal playing field and if you work hard you can achieve anything. I wish that were true. A year ago I decided to start volunteering at a homeless shelter in downtown Spokane…
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January 1, 2008
VOA provides rent, support services for disabled, homeless
The Fig Tree
Because of support services Volunteers of America (VOA) provides in its Permanent Supportive Housing Program, Dale Briese finds landlords responsive to renting one-bedroom apartments to chronically homeless and disabled people through the program he manages…