Press Coverage
‘Out of downtown’: Volunteers of America opens homeless shelter for young adults away from distractions
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November 23, 2021Young adult shelter moves into permanent home near Spokane Community College
Facing intense demand, Volunteers of America will move into its new young adult shelter before renovations on the building are completed.
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November 23, 2021‘Out of downtown’: Volunteers of America opens homeless shelter for young adults away from distractions
Volunteers of America is shifting gears to show them what a life without chronic homelessness is like. They are opening shelters away from the distractions and influences of downtown.
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August 22, 2021VOA’s Crosswalk Youth Shelter gives homeless kids help toward a fulfilling life
Let me tell you the story of Emily.
She was dropped off by her mother to live at Volunteers of America (VOA) Crosswalk Youth Shelter when she was 15. Her mother was moving to Florida and her daughter was not part of the plan. Emily stayed with us, celebrating birthdays, holidays and high school graduation in our shelter. The Crosswalk staff became her family as she longed for the one she was born into but was turned away from.
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August 18, 2021Crosswalk Youth Shelter plans big move out of downtown Spokane
After more than 35 years in downtown Spokane, the Crosswalk Youth Shelter is planning to move east.
Volunteers of America unveiled plans and launched a fundraising campaign this week in support of a new 45,000-square-foot shelter near Spokane Community College.
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June 17, 2021Beds open for homeless young adults in Spokane
Volunteers of America isn’t waiting for a new young adult shelter to help young adults.
The nonprofit is already offering beds to people 18 to 24 years old at Women’s Hearth while its leaders work to finalize a permanent location for a new facility. It has also reserved space for young adults at its Hope House adult women’s shelter.
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April 13, 2021Construction finishes on new Hope House women's shelter
Sneak Peak of new shelter and apartments!
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January 16, 2021Volunteers of America gifted $180K investment from Providence Health Care
Volunteers of America of Eastern Washington and Northern Idaho received a $180,000 donation from Providence Health Care.
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January 9, 2021Spokane area to get $2.7 million grant for a regional young adult shelter
The Spokane area was awarded a $2.7 million grant from the state Department of Commerce to open up a homeless shelter specifically for young adults, according to City of Spokane Communications Director Brian Coddington.
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February 16, 2021Annual ‘Mardi Bras’ event helps collect basic supplies for homeless women in Spokane
More than 1,800 women experience homelessness in Spokane each day and Transitions’ is working to help meet their basic needs with their “Mardi Bras” event.
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February 22, 2021Behavioral 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, 2021A 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, 2020How 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, 2020Washington 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, 2020Hope 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, 2020360 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, 2019Funding 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, 2019Bursting 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, 2019Spokane 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.