Frustration Today and the Regional Plan That Almost Was – Part 2
In our Walk Diaries for March 1st, we discussed Part 1: Spokane had never before witnessed such extensive regional collaboration.
Organized by three volunteers, the initiative brought together eight jurisdictions, numerous elected officials from across the political spectrum, and a broad coalition of community organizations. Working together for months, the group aligned on a unified approach to strategically and collaboratively address the region’s homelessness, public health, and safety crisis.
However, this collaborative effort unexpectedly unraveled the very next month due to a unilateral decision by Spokane’s newly elected mayor, Lisa Brown. (Notably, I had briefed her many times on the initiative’s progress leading up to her election, and she never expressed any doubts or concerns.) Explaining to me her reasons for not moving forward with the initiative, the mayor initially cited concerns about other regional partnerships (SREC, STA, SRHD) that she felt were not functioning properly. Subsequently, she also questioned the finances and structure of the approach.
This perspective was particularly disappointing because the plan was still in its preliminary stages and was never rigid in its funding or structure—its strength lay in its path toward strategic regional collaboration. The specific framework was entirely flexible and anticipated numerous amendments through pending public and jurisdictional reviews of the proposal.
Rather than debating the validity of the mayor’s concerns, the more important question is: why abandon the thousands of hours of regional work and effort instead of refining and improving the original draft through public, legislative, and other collaborative processes? After all, the underlying crisis has only worsened in the 14 months since the decision to abandon the approach. Accordingly, we invite all participating jurisdictions to revisit this framework, make the necessary adjustments to optimize it, and move forward—this was always the intent.
An Important Distinction – A True Regional Approach vs. Isolated Regional Projects
There is a current political drive to introduce individual collaborative projects and label them as a “regional approach.” However, this is a critical misunderstanding. A collection of one-off projects, no matter how well-intended or effective, cannot replace a comprehensive, strategic regional governance structure. A true regional approach aligns all the silos strategically to carry out a shared vision for meaningfully addressing these issues.
It is important to bear in mind that this approach does not require any jurisdiction to give up its flow of funds (the mayor has expressed concern about the city’s potential loss of control over its HUD dollar allocations). Nor does the approach necessitate adopting the proposed PDA model—for instance, a nonprofit structure could be utilized, as certain regions have done. However, key elements of shared strategic collaboration must be present, including shared data and coordinated efforts across the full spectrum of issues driving the crisis.
In other words, a true regional approach requires alignment—a unified governing structure in which all key players work together under a shared strategic vision. The distinct initiatives we’ve seen over the past year (e.g., scattered shelter rollouts), while effective in their own right, will never achieve the broader goal of resolving the crisis.
The reality speaks for itself. Despite new projects and ongoing efforts, a simple walk-through downtown reveals that conditions on the ground are not improving. Moreover, overdose deaths continue to rise at an alarming rate. Compared to similar counties across the country, Spokane’s overdose crisis stands out as one of the worst. (Spokane is also the only city I can find where the death rate is still trending higher.) In other words, our current fragmented efforts—masquerading as a regional approach—are not working.
No More Waiting
As we call for immediate emergency action, we must emphasize that the extreme impatience we feel today is not new—it is the same urgency we felt a year ago when our large group sat through a long series of two-hour meetings, hammering out the details of a coordinated plan.
Now, as overdose deaths continue to rise and our downtown economy faces increasing challenges, it is imperative to act decisively and execute on the regional groundwork already laid by our regional leaders.