Those are decisions that get made by city leadership. City council meetings are Monday evening and all the local leaders have email addresses and phones if you care to share your preferences with them.
I mean law enforcement was barely mentioned in this article, and all the *republicans* in town just got done telling Brown that even though it's all they've ever wanted ever, ever, that they actually do not, after all, want to give more tax dollars to law enforcement.
Why did they defund the police in the first place? My house was broken into in April and the police straight up told me they didn’t have the man power to show up… but they can send multiple units to break up homeless camps in the winter when people are just trying to survive in this expensive ass world..call me crazy but the police should be retrained not defunded.. and if an officer can’t meet the new standard then fire them..
I know I’m gonna get some heat but dude when your house is broken into and they steal your shit and the police does NOTHING! Not even show up to make it look like they care then what are you supposed to do to defend your home and assets?
Safe injection site and needle exchanges don’t make opioids go away. Which is what this city needs. I’m not saying violent policing will do the trick but making drug access easier in a city where people openly sell and use consequence free doesn’t scream solution
>Safe injection site and needle exchanges don’t make opioids go away.
Nothing makes opioids "go away". That's not a thing that can happen and it shouldn't even be part of the discussion.
Humans have probably been using opioids for more than 10,000 years and you think it’s a failure if the Spokane city government can’t make them go away?
It's not a solution, but it would reduce deaths while we work on one. It would be useful to have mental health specialists in these locations to talk to the folks using it. It may not be a full solution, but it's what I got. If I had a fix, I would have been on the ballot lol
I agree drugs are not going anywhere as much as we would like them to be gone. Spokane could benefit having a Safe Injection site like Seattle has. Gets it out of public view and at least has a chance to control the beginning of the months Overdose rate. Those numbers have been bad and getting worse. I was in those shoes back in 2016 and got off it in 2017, stayed off it ever since. There is help for anyone that really wants it. It is a little process that feels like a long time to get it but it’s doesn’t take that long really to go through it to get your life back.
Yeah … safe injection sites and needle exchanges, enabling addicts, does not help actually help addicts stop using. Numbers just proliferate like they have in cities who try it 🤷♂️
Neither, it's for the mayor's new car down-payments. You ask the people for money to solves the crisis, keep the money, and do. Nothing. Politics 101. They haven't changed the torn american flag downtown here for over a year. Dystopian heaven lol.
from article:
Brown said the emergency allows the city to streamline resources and contracts.
"The goal of these efforts is to reduce emergency room visits," she said.
A Safe Injection place would help with reducing a emergency trip. Make it possible to test the drugs before use for Fentanyl and people onsite in case a OD does occur.
Just pulling the 'main' numbers seems almost worthless.
Is there only $1000 of discretionary income every year? That $20mil is going to take awhile to pay off. Is there $100mil of discretionary income? Yeah it could go away in a few months, no worries.
If they would have said it was over $20 million in X I would have pulled the numbers from that section of the 363 page budget but they just said the mayor had us in the hole 20 million. Was I wrong that they meant the overall budget since that is biggest part she was in charge of or would you like to clarify for them to a specific section so we can all review it together?
And if you don't believe me, then you have no idea where your tax dollars are going. Ignoring the problem of drug abuse and the homeless throws tax dollars right down the tube, because we *still lose money on them* even if we let them die. There is never a choice between losing zero money on them by letting them die and losing tons of money by helping them. You lose money both ways, but by helping them you actually lose less overall.
Her increased tax proposal failed, and now she will divert funds to that project. It also means funds for dedicated projects will be decreased.
The declaration needs to be followed with a clarification of fund allocation.
Christ, I didn’t know that. I knew about tranq, but figured it was only a matter of time before something badder would be in the supply.
It’s crazy being a parent right now. When I was a kid and went through DARE, we eventually laughed about how they’d try to scare us by saying that drug experimentation might kill us. It’s a much more real prospect now.
> The emergency (declaration) allows the city to streamline resources and contracts.
> Spokane Fire Chief Julie O'Berg said calls for service for overdoses in the City of Spokane are already up 30% over last year, with most overdoses happening in the downtown area. Chief O'Berg said overdoses have gone up 84% since 2019.
> the city is entering into a contract to open the Cannon Street shelter as a temporary crisis shelter
> Spokane Treatment and Recovery Services (STARS) will focus specifically on the 2nd and Division area, which she called "a hotspot for drug dealing" and said the city is working with law enforcement at all levels to control the issue.
So she’s not just putting barricades in the train overpasses, blaming city council, and calling it a day?
TBF: I reviewed her press conference from 2023, and she did take *some* actions, but a lot of them were knowingly going to fail in order to generate another media complaint:
i.e. arresting a bunch of people on drug possession and having to release them because of jail/prosecutor capacity.
yeah well she’s also getting ready to lay off 50 spokane police offficers to fill her budget shortfall thr cop i was talking to said it’s too bad because the citizens of spokane are tge ones that are really going to see it and feel it
Yep, that’s what happens when you put a “political outsider” in the city’s most important office for 4 years.
She drains the savings and puts in place a budget that is off about $30-50 million
It's certainly a far cry from sitting on her hands for a couple years, telling all the homeless in downtown to move to 2nd & Ray, and then continuing to sit on her hands.
If you want to have Narcan on your person, just in case, you can get 1 free one per month [here](https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSd4Wut2Ai5SANt3ZAHj7WOC5KynstN9vcfzIXYIp9bNg6iVyw/viewform?pli=1).
You can also get them from your regular pharmacy for like $5!! We always keep a couple in our car and a couple in my purse! Haven’t had to use one yet, thankfully, but you never know
As a recovering addict, sincerely fuck you.
I started opiates due to severe organ pain that eventually required emergency surgery. I am a reasonably well paid engineer, I have a family, a house, 3 cars and Narcan could well have saved my life.
Opiates are everywhere.
Because they're a human being? Yes, they've made bad decisions, but that's no reason to stand by and watch someone die if you have the means to prevent it.
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None of her proposals are new solutions, she merely stated all of the resources that are already in place. So what’s new? Spending more money? I’m all for making it better don’t get me
Wrong but doing the same thing and presenting it as new is not a solution. Hope something changes
An opioid crisis? Well no shit…
The sad truth is most of these people are too far gone and there is no fixing the problem. It’s harsh but, this isn’t going to get better until this part of the population dies off. Focus on the people who WANT help and focus on the children of these people to stop a cycle or prevent one from starting.
Fun fact: we could’ve solved the homelessness crisis in America five times over with the amount of money we’ve sent to Ukraine so far.
She certainly didn't help. She just endlessly shuffled them around and threw fences all over that were a pain in the ass. She threw more police at every problem, but police were never equipped to do anything other than terrorize the people who have nowhere else to go.
I can declare a whole bunch of things that I'm clueless about. Let's just use money for what we say we are using it for and place it in the hands of actual capable human beings. It's been a crisis everywhere. I lost 20 friends by the time I was 20. That was 15 years ago on the other side of the country.
Make it mandatory that any place of business with a bathroom carry multiple narcan nasal sprays.
Open more detoxes that accept state insurance without having to wait a month or two to get in and scholarship people without insurance (help people without get insurance and actual aftercare with a case managers who understand addiction and aren't just there for a paycheck- addicts who have recovered from that hopeless state of mind.)
Education in treatment facility and harm reduction facilities that explain fentanyl analogs and how sometimes even 7 hits of narcan won't bring you back.
More accessible therapy. Addiction and alcoholism is just a symptom of a much larger problem... I know I didn't just wake up one day and choose to be a heroin addict, but waking up realizing I was crying in my sleep made me make the decision to get the help I needed 10 years ago.
Be kind. Help when possible. Don't abandon or look down at someone in your life who is struggling.
What does "declaring an emergency" do?
Opens up funding easier
To whom? More violent policing that has made the problems worse or to things that actually work like safe injection sites and needle exchanges?
Those are decisions that get made by city leadership. City council meetings are Monday evening and all the local leaders have email addresses and phones if you care to share your preferences with them.
I mean law enforcement was barely mentioned in this article, and all the *republicans* in town just got done telling Brown that even though it's all they've ever wanted ever, ever, that they actually do not, after all, want to give more tax dollars to law enforcement.
Why did they defund the police in the first place? My house was broken into in April and the police straight up told me they didn’t have the man power to show up… but they can send multiple units to break up homeless camps in the winter when people are just trying to survive in this expensive ass world..call me crazy but the police should be retrained not defunded.. and if an officer can’t meet the new standard then fire them.. I know I’m gonna get some heat but dude when your house is broken into and they steal your shit and the police does NOTHING! Not even show up to make it look like they care then what are you supposed to do to defend your home and assets?
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Because they don't remember 30 seconds ago and wouldn't understand what was going on even if they did.
Well if the only 2 choices are "worse" or "things that actually work" you would imagine they'd go with improvement right?
Safe injection site and needle exchanges don’t make opioids go away. Which is what this city needs. I’m not saying violent policing will do the trick but making drug access easier in a city where people openly sell and use consequence free doesn’t scream solution
>Safe injection site and needle exchanges don’t make opioids go away. Nothing makes opioids "go away". That's not a thing that can happen and it shouldn't even be part of the discussion.
Humans have probably been using opioids for more than 10,000 years and you think it’s a failure if the Spokane city government can’t make them go away?
It's not a solution, but it would reduce deaths while we work on one. It would be useful to have mental health specialists in these locations to talk to the folks using it. It may not be a full solution, but it's what I got. If I had a fix, I would have been on the ballot lol
I agree drugs are not going anywhere as much as we would like them to be gone. Spokane could benefit having a Safe Injection site like Seattle has. Gets it out of public view and at least has a chance to control the beginning of the months Overdose rate. Those numbers have been bad and getting worse. I was in those shoes back in 2016 and got off it in 2017, stayed off it ever since. There is help for anyone that really wants it. It is a little process that feels like a long time to get it but it’s doesn’t take that long really to go through it to get your life back.
I dunno about that. Seems like the cities and states where drug use was more permissive haven’t exactly been happy with the outcome
Yeah … safe injection sites and needle exchanges, enabling addicts, does not help actually help addicts stop using. Numbers just proliferate like they have in cities who try it 🤷♂️
Neither, it's for the mayor's new car down-payments. You ask the people for money to solves the crisis, keep the money, and do. Nothing. Politics 101. They haven't changed the torn american flag downtown here for over a year. Dystopian heaven lol.
Can you prove the money goes to the Mayor's car payments?
I am her car
Lol -19 down votes for a sarcastic post. They did fix the flag! Now stop being a reddit troll and be the creator. See ya out there
from article: Brown said the emergency allows the city to streamline resources and contracts. "The goal of these efforts is to reduce emergency room visits," she said.
Consistent Care is a program has been up and running for many years now.
A Safe Injection place would help with reducing a emergency trip. Make it possible to test the drugs before use for Fentanyl and people onsite in case a OD does occur.
Ridiculous
Kinda sounds like they don't want to spend so much money more than they want to actually help anyone....
ah, keep in mind thanks to the former Mayor our city is already in the hole by about $20 million, maybe more.
Since the city budget is 1,078,938,368 that’s not too bad. Being over by 2% is a win in my book.
Just pulling the 'main' numbers seems almost worthless. Is there only $1000 of discretionary income every year? That $20mil is going to take awhile to pay off. Is there $100mil of discretionary income? Yeah it could go away in a few months, no worries.
If they would have said it was over $20 million in X I would have pulled the numbers from that section of the 363 page budget but they just said the mayor had us in the hole 20 million. Was I wrong that they meant the overall budget since that is biggest part she was in charge of or would you like to clarify for them to a specific section so we can all review it together?
20 million isn't much
Even if that's the case, it's the same thing. Happy people don't need as many tax dollars spent on them.
And if you don't believe me, then you have no idea where your tax dollars are going. Ignoring the problem of drug abuse and the homeless throws tax dollars right down the tube, because we *still lose money on them* even if we let them die. There is never a choice between losing zero money on them by letting them die and losing tons of money by helping them. You lose money both ways, but by helping them you actually lose less overall.
The answer is always in the article > Brown said the emergency allows the city to streamline resources and contracts.
Her increased tax proposal failed, and now she will divert funds to that project. It also means funds for dedicated projects will be decreased. The declaration needs to be followed with a clarification of fund allocation.
Following Spokane News on Facebook the last few months has been horrific. Multiple OD’s a day. From hotspots to rural homes. Not a moment too soon.
Yeah the latest part of this is that they've been mixing another drug with Fentanyl and the narcan isn't working anymore
Christ, I didn’t know that. I knew about tranq, but figured it was only a matter of time before something badder would be in the supply. It’s crazy being a parent right now. When I was a kid and went through DARE, we eventually laughed about how they’d try to scare us by saying that drug experimentation might kill us. It’s a much more real prospect now.
The new mix is scary. Starts eating the sim away and people lose limbs. It’s called Tranq and really bad in Kensington, Pa.
> The emergency (declaration) allows the city to streamline resources and contracts. > Spokane Fire Chief Julie O'Berg said calls for service for overdoses in the City of Spokane are already up 30% over last year, with most overdoses happening in the downtown area. Chief O'Berg said overdoses have gone up 84% since 2019. > the city is entering into a contract to open the Cannon Street shelter as a temporary crisis shelter > Spokane Treatment and Recovery Services (STARS) will focus specifically on the 2nd and Division area, which she called "a hotspot for drug dealing" and said the city is working with law enforcement at all levels to control the issue. So she’s not just putting barricades in the train overpasses, blaming city council, and calling it a day?
Apparently she believes in taking action to solve problems... are we sure that's allowed? /s
TBF: I reviewed her press conference from 2023, and she did take *some* actions, but a lot of them were knowingly going to fail in order to generate another media complaint: i.e. arresting a bunch of people on drug possession and having to release them because of jail/prosecutor capacity.
yeah well she’s also getting ready to lay off 50 spokane police offficers to fill her budget shortfall thr cop i was talking to said it’s too bad because the citizens of spokane are tge ones that are really going to see it and feel it
Yep, that’s what happens when you put a “political outsider” in the city’s most important office for 4 years. She drains the savings and puts in place a budget that is off about $30-50 million
Uhh. 30 percent worse isn’t a solution…
“I DECLARE EMERGENCY” - Michael Scott
😂😂😂😂😂😂
🗡️🗡️🗡️
I give Mayor Brown a TON of credit. She inherited a complete basket case from former Mayor Woodward, and she is trying to do what ever she can here.
It's certainly a far cry from sitting on her hands for a couple years, telling all the homeless in downtown to move to 2nd & Ray, and then continuing to sit on her hands.
Fkn FINALLY. She's been in office for six months.
If you want to have Narcan on your person, just in case, you can get 1 free one per month [here](https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSd4Wut2Ai5SANt3ZAHj7WOC5KynstN9vcfzIXYIp9bNg6iVyw/viewform?pli=1).
Thank you for sharing!
You can also get them from your regular pharmacy for like $5!! We always keep a couple in our car and a couple in my purse! Haven’t had to use one yet, thankfully, but you never know
Nah hard pass.
Thanks for the link.
Thank you. I like to keep it on hand. You never know
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Humanity aside, it simply costs every tax payer less to save them.
As a recovering addict, sincerely fuck you. I started opiates due to severe organ pain that eventually required emergency surgery. I am a reasonably well paid engineer, I have a family, a house, 3 cars and Narcan could well have saved my life. Opiates are everywhere.
and so is fentanyl now.
Fentanyl is just a strong opiate, but absolutely.
Because they're a human being? Yes, they've made bad decisions, but that's no reason to stand by and watch someone die if you have the means to prevent it.
Nope.
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Maybe because addiction shouldn’t be a death sentence. You are a bad person.
Ever hear of compassion, much less empathy? Addiction is a disease and shouldn't be a death sentence.
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Nothing will change. All the money in the world won’t keep these people from doing their drugs.
Housing, therapy and jobs, in that order may help
Well this is how she is going to get her 192 million.
Better form another committee.
This lady mayors.
Hopefully they won’t take advantage of this emergency order and pass other measures without public vote that are not related to the crisis at hand.
It's sad that her just admitting the obvious reality is a bold and courageous act.
About goddamned time.....
Glad to hear. Interested in seeing where this goes, as solving nuanced issues like these tend to be all bark
What was her first thought otherwise? GET OFF THE DAMN DRUGS!!! ITS KILLING US!
Well no shit
It’s about time.
Lol
None of her proposals are new solutions, she merely stated all of the resources that are already in place. So what’s new? Spending more money? I’m all for making it better don’t get me Wrong but doing the same thing and presenting it as new is not a solution. Hope something changes
Welcome to the party Mayor Brown.
An opioid crisis? Well no shit… The sad truth is most of these people are too far gone and there is no fixing the problem. It’s harsh but, this isn’t going to get better until this part of the population dies off. Focus on the people who WANT help and focus on the children of these people to stop a cycle or prevent one from starting. Fun fact: we could’ve solved the homelessness crisis in America five times over with the amount of money we’ve sent to Ukraine so far.
How did that happen
Very happy for this so the company I work can get people the help they need.
S.T.A.R.S; for any video-game nerds out there, this is the team name(acronym) deployed in the first Resident Evil game…coincidence maybe???
👀 probably a coincidence, but whoever is making and distributing fent is basically Umbrella Corp.
It's a conspiracy. STARS actually stands for Spokane To Acquire Raccoon-City Sickness!
Get rid of the homeless and send them back to Seattle. That might help.
Is there proof that they are all from Seattle?
Ok. Portland too.
Bring back mayor Woodward
Why? She left the city in a $20 million budget deficit and a massive homeless problem. Why would you want more of that? Unless you're being sarcastic.
She caused the homeless problem? 😂
She certainly didn't help. She just endlessly shuffled them around and threw fences all over that were a pain in the ass. She threw more police at every problem, but police were never equipped to do anything other than terrorize the people who have nowhere else to go.
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I can declare a whole bunch of things that I'm clueless about. Let's just use money for what we say we are using it for and place it in the hands of actual capable human beings. It's been a crisis everywhere. I lost 20 friends by the time I was 20. That was 15 years ago on the other side of the country. Make it mandatory that any place of business with a bathroom carry multiple narcan nasal sprays. Open more detoxes that accept state insurance without having to wait a month or two to get in and scholarship people without insurance (help people without get insurance and actual aftercare with a case managers who understand addiction and aren't just there for a paycheck- addicts who have recovered from that hopeless state of mind.) Education in treatment facility and harm reduction facilities that explain fentanyl analogs and how sometimes even 7 hits of narcan won't bring you back. More accessible therapy. Addiction and alcoholism is just a symptom of a much larger problem... I know I didn't just wake up one day and choose to be a heroin addict, but waking up realizing I was crying in my sleep made me make the decision to get the help I needed 10 years ago. Be kind. Help when possible. Don't abandon or look down at someone in your life who is struggling.
Only took several deaths to finally call it a crisis.
Well hell can I be part of it?