Spokane Neighborhood Action Partners turns 60 this year.
When I think of SNAP, I think of Bob Peeler, the now-retired employee who developed a reputation as Spokane’s homelessness guru. Current employee Amber Johnson remembers him too.
"First of all, Bob is a legend at SNAP. Everybody knows Bob. Everybody loves Bob. And I would say that things have changed in the homeless services system over time and, you know, the approach that we take now is maybe a little different than when Bob was here," Johnson said.
"When Bob was here, we were very heavily engaged in outreach and being out in the community. And, you know, that's not something that we focus on as much as we used to, but we are the door for single homeless individuals in Spokane. So if you're, you know, a single individual or a couple without children, you're probably going to come and interact with us."
Going forward, when you think of SNAP, you might think of Amber Johnson. This week, Johnson began a four-month transition from SNAP’s chief operating officer to its chief executive. She will learn from Julie Honekamp, who is retiring this year after leading the agency for 15 years.
This week, we talked with Johnson and Honekamp.
This interview is edited for length and clarity.
Julie Honekamp: I'd like to say we are an entity that grew out of community action in the 60s, kind of out of the whole civil rights movement. Those kinds of values have carried us through all 60 years. And as part of being a community action agency, we're responsive to listening to local needs. That part has remained the same.
I'd say some of the things, though, that have shifted are the political uncertainty over the years, and I think back to 2008, the Great Recession and the pandemic and numerous government shutdowns. That is a different era than when we were first founded.
I'd also say technology is really changing us, particularly in the last 10 or so years, just really the need to focus on trying to make it easier for clients to access our programs off hours, on weekends, whenever they need to, the advent of things like AI and how do we help use those systems to gain efficiency. So, you know, a lot of things are the same, and yet some things are different.
DN: Has the need increased in 25 years?
JH: You know, I'd say the need is fairly strong. The flavors of need sometimes shift a bit.
Probably 15, 20 years ago, we did a really deep look to see what we were doing and whether others in the community were doing it. And we spun off a bunch of things. We used to operate food banks and a couple of other things that we shifted to our partners and now we have focused in some areas that are very specific and are kind of our niche, energy assistance, which is what a lot of people know us for, and weatherization. We do a fair amount of small business lending and housing default counseling, some really specific needs that we kind of help fill in our community.
DN: What's the evidence that those were the right moves?
JH: Well, they're really technical, a lot of them. Things like weatherization. A lot of non-profits here in town don't currently have the crews and all kind of infrared cameras and blower door testing and all that kind of niche. We were already in that space. Staying in kind of that line has really served our community well, as has things like doing some micro-lending for small business development. A lot of banks maybe will work with bankable folks at the higher end of the scale, but maybe if you just need a $10,000 loan, they're not as interested, and that's kind of the space that we work in, the smaller loans.
DN: So given the fact that you're working in those areas, is your clientele different than it was 20 or 25 years ago?
JH: Yeah, for sure. Back when we were doing basic food, before we started doing housing, those programs were simpler, I would say, to operate, and the needs were still great. But there's some things that others are doing in the community, and we gladly champion them to do that.
DN: Has it been harder for you to raise money and to keep yourself going as government has sort of divested itself of these things?
JH: It's gotten much more complex. We have over 100 different funding sources and the braiding together of those funding sources and the often conflicting rules and regulations require us to be really synced up with our funders and very clear with them about, hey, we can take this flavor of money to do X thing, but maybe we don't want to take this flavor because it's just too administratively challenging or it's conflicting with the money you just gave us. So I'd say it's trickier these days to take these flavors and make them all work together.
DN: It sounds like SNAP is at the center of several big themes: housing, energy efficiency, climate change.
JH: Yeah, I think you're spot on and one of the things I'll just mention is we've been really focused over the last 10 years on making sure if somebody walks in one of our doors, and there are many, that they're getting tied with all the other programs we offer. So maybe they come for energy, but it's like, oh, you're a homeowner. Is your home safe? Housing counseling. Is your home older? Weatherization. Are you looking to buy a home? Down payment assistance. So we're trying to chain together a variety of different offerings to increase people's financial resilience.
But with regards specifically to weatherization, there's home repair, there's weatherization. It is very much a building science. The files are huge. It's quite complex, the number of cubic inches of leaking and air sealing. It's an important service, though, to make sure that people are doing their best to reduce their energy bills and creating a safe environment. So you're breathing healthy indoor air and you aren't having a tripping hazard because you don't have the ramp, right? So we often say, too, we want you to age in place as opposed to ending up maybe in a facility that then our ombudsman program has to go and advocate for you for. So we're trying to look at people holistically.
DN: As we said earlier, Julie Honekamp is handing the reins of SNAP to Amber Johnson, who has worked for the agency for nearly two decades.
AJ: I started here as a legal intern, actually as a work study student. I'm working in our housing opportunities department at that time and, for me, it's really been the learning ground of watching leaders before me who I've had the chance to work side-by-side with embody servant leadership and what it means to be a SNAP employee, what it means to be of service to the community and to staff and to each other. It's really been my passion.
My educational journey took me on an interesting path. My undergraduate degree is in environmental biology. I thought I was going to go be a lawyer for the EPA. Law school wasn't my thing. I was fortunate enough to find a place here at SNAP and it's really become my passion, my calling, and I feel deeply honored to be given this opportunity.
DN: Johnson comes in with her own ideas about the direction she wants to take the organization.
AJ: There's some real opportunity there to really meet people where they are and where they need us to be. We have a really great strategic plan in place, as well, that highlights some things around building and strengthening partnerships in the community and doing some more intentional advocacy work. Those are two things that I'm really passionate about as well and I'm looking forward to delving into and getting out there and using SNAP's voice and reputation and power to stand beside some of our partners who need some support and need a friendly face when times are tough.
