Thrive Center Spokane, an offshoot of Thrive International, will close its doors at the end of October.
The center, which is based out of a former Quality Inn in downtown Spokane, has housed immigrants and refugees since 2022, when it first took in families fleeing Russia’s attack on Ukraine.
“The goal was within six months, on average, to have folks who just arrived in our community be able to have their own apartment, have a job and be fully financially sustainable,” said Mark Finney, the executive director of Thrive International.
Over four years of operation, Thrive Center helped more than 1,200 families transition to stable housing. At any given time, around 88 families were staying at the center.
Now the center’s work is indefinitely on hold.
Thrive Center’s landlord ran into financial trouble earlier this summer. He notified the center in June of his decision to sell the building.
“It is sad and it’s hard for me to have to close this center down in Spokane,” Finney said. “We’ve seen lives transformed.”
After learning of the sale, Thrive Center stopped taking in new families while staff worked to rehouse existing clients. The center still has to rehouse almost 20 remaining refugee and immigrant families before the end of October.
The hope is to keep those people in the community, but Finney said there’s a small chance they could end up moving to Thrive International’s other housing center, Thrive Center Tacoma.
According to Finney, the center has found a new partnership that will allow it to continue to offer social services in Spokane. But at least the time being, Thrive Center will no longer offer housing services in the Inland Northwest.
“I wish we could do more,” Finney said. “And I hope someday we can revive a big, powerful program like that.”
