The program has helped 290 people at Camp Hope reestablish core identification, an essential first step to finding employment and housing.
Government-issued identification is vital to navigating most daily needs, yet is so ubiquitous many people take it for granted. The opposite is true for many and potentially most unsheltered people in Spokane. IDs are lost or stolen at such a rate that, this summer, a survey of Camp Hope residents conducted by Jewels Helping Hands found that 598 of 600 people surveyed lacked identification.
In order to address this need, Jewels Helping Hands has been administering an identification connection program in conjunction with the Washington Department of Licensing (DOL) and Department of Health (DOH). Over the last six weeks that program, which is supported by funding from the Washington Commerce Department, has issued 292 IDs and 106 birth certificates at Camp Hope and an additional 108 IDs at the Jewels Helping Hands day center.
The impact goes beyond having the proper paperwork, touching on something psychological. In an article for the Spokesman-Review, one resident told Colin Tiernan that having ID again made him feel welcome in the larger community:
“Not a cast-out anymore,” he said. “It’s like you belong again.”
Because of the success of the program at the encampment, the DOL and DOH offered to expand the identification services to the Trent Shelter (or Trent Resource and Assistance Center or just TRAC), which is operated by the Salvation Army. According to a Department of Licensing spokesperson, the operators of the center initially agreed to have the services on-site this week, then backed out. “TRAC did decline our offer to appear at their center,” said Nathan Olson. “You’ll need to contact the center for details about why.”
RANGE has contacted both the Salvation Army and the city of Spokane in an attempt to understand why the services aren’t being offered at the shelter. This article will be updated when and if they respond.
