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Spokane Valley Event To Serve People Who Are Homeless

Spokane Homeless Coalition

A Spokane Valley group is bringing more than 40 service providers under one roof Friday to help people who are homeless and in need.

Aileen Luppert chairs the planning committee for Spokane Valley Connect, which is sponsoring the event.

“If somebody wanted to come in, in one afternoon, they could get a free lunch, have a hair cut, go down and get an arrest warrant quashed, meet with school representatives about possible resources at the school, and then swing by WorkSource and find out about employment opportunities," Luppert said.

The Spokane Valley Connect is a supplement to another event held earlier in the year at the Salvation Army in the city of Spokane.

Luppert says a similar event in the valley last year served 325 people. She expects to see at least that many people today.

“The discussions about homelessness right now are so focused on downtown, which tend to be individuals or couples or adults," she said. "Out here in the valley, our homelessness is a lot harder to see because there’s so many families. So we are trying to have more school services and what not to reach those people. We know that there were over 800 students identified as homeless in the four valley school districts and so we’re trying to meet those needs as well as individuals.”

The Spokane Valley Connect event will run Friday from 2 to 6 pm at the Opportunity Presbyterian Church at 202 North Pines Road.