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Record of Proceedings

Spokane Valley Meeting on ALICE, Homelessness Count, and Shelter Needs - January 22, 2026

City Council & Commissions — Thursday, January 22, 2026
BodySpokane Valley, Washington
SessionCity Council & Commissions
DateThursday, January 22, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 57:38

Original source
Transcript — VerbatimClick a timed line to jump · ⧉ to share it
0:00

Wonderful.

0:02

So let me go ahead and share my screen here.

0:05

One second.

0:16

Sorry, bear with me.

0:17

It's always the calculus when you're starting a to share a screen on a call.

0:22

One second here.

0:49

Why don't we just make it before an item is late in the German?

0:52

Between six and seven, we make it six B.

1:01

Thanks.

1:02

My computer's going very slowly today, but it's getting there slowly but surely.

1:07

Let's see here.

1:10

Just so I I know that we're battling in in CVSD.

1:14

The Microsoft is having some fairly widespread problems.

1:19

And so it could be a function of that too.

1:22

So that's good to know.

1:25

Okay.

1:26

Let's see.

1:27

I think maybe is it are you able to see anything currently?

1:31

Almost.

1:32

Almost.

1:33

There we go.

1:34

Okay.

1:35

Okay.

1:35

Perfect.

1:36

Give me one second here.

1:37

I'm just getting my changing the presenter view just a second.

1:41

Okay.

1:47

Bear with me.

2:06

Well, while this is getting going, I will um first can everyone see it okay.

2:11

Is it that same screen that you would have seen before the large um let's talk about Alice?

2:17

Yeah.

2:18

Yeah.

2:18

Okay, great.

2:19

Um, well, yeah, thank you again for having me.

2:22

Like mentioned, I'm Nicole Bishop.

2:23

I'm the philanthropy manager here at Snap.

2:26

I've worked at Snap for eight years.

2:28

Um, and in this time, I and all of us at Snap have seen the same reality over and over again, which is families who are working incredibly hard, they're doing everything that they're supposed to do, and they're still falling behind.

2:42

So today, and I'm so grateful I was asked to present about it.

2:45

I want to talk about those families, who they are, um, why it's happening and what Snap's doing and how you could be a part of that solution.

2:55

So when we talk about financial hardship, we're not talking about some distant group of people.

3:01

These are people who are our neighbors, your kids' classmates, they're the person helping you at the grocery store, and sometimes without even knowing it, they're your friends.

3:10

And that's where the term Alice comes into play.

3:14

So what is Alice?

3:16

Yes.

3:16

I apologize.

3:17

Uh, on your screen, do you have a pop-up by chance on your presentation?

3:21

We have an audience window pop-up on our side that we can't seem to click.

3:25

Oh, let's see.

3:26

Okay.

3:29

One second here.

3:30

Let's put those like your audience.

3:36

Okay.

3:36

I is that better for you guys.

3:38

There we go.

3:39

Yeah, thank you.

3:40

Okay, perfect.

3:41

Thank you for letting me know that in one second here.

3:43

Let me just get the my notes up on the back end.

3:46

I thought I could have up both at the same time, but apparently I cannot.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Homelessness█████████████████████████████████████████████46%
Affordable Housing██████████████████████████████31%
Procedural███████████11%
Public Safety████4%
Technology and Innovation███3%
Community Engagement███3%
Budget Equity Analysis██2%
Summary of Proceedings

Spokane Valley Meeting on ALICE, Homelessness Count, and Shelter Resources - January 22, 2026

The Spokane Valley committee met on January 22, 2026, to hear a presentation on ALICE (Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed) households from SNAP, discuss potential uses of 1406 funds for housing, review the upcoming Point-in-Time (PIT) homeless count, and address resident concerns about reporting homelessness and the lack of available shelter beds. No public comments were made.

Discussion Items

ALICE Household Presentation

  • Nicole Bishop, philanthropy manager at SNAP, presented on ALICE households—working families who cannot meet basic needs despite full-time employment. She reported that 38% of Washington households and 41% of Spokane County households fall below the ALICE threshold. Using 2025 fair market rent data (e.g., $1,123/month for a one-bedroom) and a minimum wage of $16.66/hour, she illustrated that a full-time worker earning ~$2,900/month would need $3,369/month to avoid being rent-burdened. The survival budget for a family of four in Washington is $109,000/year, compared to the federal poverty level of $22,000. SNAP served about 40,000 Spokane County neighbors in 2024, including 8,000 working families. Key programs include homeless services (228 moved to permanent housing), 12 affordable housing units, eviction prevention (over 1,000 households), energy assistance (26,000 households), weatherization (293 units), and small business support (22 businesses started/expanded, 48 jobs created/retained). Bishop encouraged changing the narrative and offered free ALICE simulations.

Potential Use of 1406 Funds

  • A housing coordinator (identified as the city's housing homes coordinator) noted growing need among ALICE families and suggested exploring the use of 1406 sales and use tax funds for housing-related projects. These funds have a current balance of approximately $1.2 million, with about $200,000 added annually. The revenue source runs through 2030. Committee members expressed interest in bringing back a detailed proposal, including eligibility, provider projects, and cost-benefit analysis. A motion was made to place this on the agenda for a future meeting (though February will focus on public meeting act training). No formal vote was taken, but the chair agreed to follow up.

Point-in-Time Homeless Count

  • Ms. Roberson presented highlights from the 2025 PIT count report. She noted that the count, conducted on a single night in January, showed a slight overall decrease in homelessness but an increase in unsheltered individuals. About 70% of those counted were last housed in Spokane County, and most others from elsewhere in Washington. The 2026 PIT count will begin January 28, 2026, with a Homeless Connect event downtown and fieldwork through February 2. Volunteers are needed to canvas Spokane Valley, including at Partners in the Northwest (serving ~300 households per day). Committee members discussed the importance of local data and countered claims about people being bused in from other areas.

Reporting Homeless Concerns and Shelter Bed Availability

  • Mr. Gonz asked about procedures for reporting homeless individuals through the city's S.V. Express app. The housing coordinator clarified that 911 is for crimes/emergencies, crime check (for non-emergency crimes) can be used, and the city's report-a-concern button routes non-emergency non-crime concerns to his office (though not on weekends). He emphasized that there is no 24/7 response. When asked about increasing shelter beds, the coordinator stated that the city currently rents no beds—Truth Ministries and Hope House contracts ended. Inclement weather beds through Way Out Center/Salvation Army cost $75/night but open only when temperatures drop below 32°F for two consecutive nights. He noted the high cost ($130/night at Hope House) and limited funds (HHAA fund ~$300,000). He committed to continuing to explore options.

Key Outcomes

  • The committee agreed to revisit 1406 fund allocation at a future meeting (likely after February 2026).
  • No formal votes were taken on funding or policy changes.
  • The meeting adjourned by unanimous voice vote.

Meeting Transcript

Wonderful. So let me go ahead and share my screen here. One second. Sorry, bear with me. It's always the calculus when you're starting a to share a screen on a call. One second here. Why don't we just make it before an item is late in the German? Between six and seven, we make it six B. Thanks. My computer's going very slowly today, but it's getting there slowly but surely. Let's see here. Just so I I know that we're battling in in CVSD. The Microsoft is having some fairly widespread problems. And so it could be a function of that too. So that's good to know. Okay. Let's see. I think maybe is it are you able to see anything currently? Almost. Almost. There we go. Okay. Okay. Perfect. Give me one second here. I'm just getting my changing the presenter view just a second. Okay. Bear with me. Well, while this is getting going, I will um first can everyone see it okay. Is it that same screen that you would have seen before the large um let's talk about Alice? Yeah. Yeah. Okay, great. Um, well, yeah, thank you again for having me. Like mentioned, I'm Nicole Bishop. I'm the philanthropy manager here at Snap. I've worked at Snap for eight years. Um, and in this time, I and all of us at Snap have seen the same reality over and over again, which is families who are working incredibly hard, they're doing everything that they're supposed to do, and they're still falling behind. So today, and I'm so grateful I was asked to present about it. I want to talk about those families, who they are, um, why it's happening and what Snap's doing and how you could be a part of that solution. So when we talk about financial hardship, we're not talking about some distant group of people. These are people who are our neighbors, your kids' classmates, they're the person helping you at the grocery store, and sometimes without even knowing it, they're your friends. And that's where the term Alice comes into play. So what is Alice? Yes. I apologize. Uh, on your screen, do you have a pop-up by chance on your presentation? We have an audience window pop-up on our side that we can't seem to click. Oh, let's see. Okay.

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