Pillar 2
Invest in Our Community
Community safety and wellness starts with community investment. We must prioritize mental health services, affordable housing, youth programs, and resources that uplift and empower our community. By investing in Spokane’s people, we build a more resilient, supportive, and thriving community for everyone.
Key Priorities
Early Childhood Intervention
What It Means
Establishing independent civilian bodies with the authority to review complaints, monitor police conduct, and make policy recommendations.
Why It Matters
Early childhood experiences have a lasting impact on educational achievement, health outcomes, and economic stability. Investing early helps children thrive and reduces the need for more costly interventions later in life.
Mental and Behavioral Health Services
What It Means
Expanding access to counseling, therapy, crisis response, and mental health services for people of all ages.
Why It Matters
Mental health is a critical component of overall wellbeing. Accessible services can improve quality of life, reduce crises, strengthen families, and lessen strain on emergency and criminal justice systems.
Physical health services
What It Means
Increasing access to preventative care, primary healthcare, community clinics, and health education programs.
Why It Matters
Healthy communities are more resilient and productive. Access to healthcare helps prevent serious illnesses, reduces long-term healthcare costs, and improves overall quality of life.
Addiction Recovery
What It Means
Expanding treatment, recovery support, harm-reduction services, and pathways to long-term recovery for individuals struggling with substance use disorders.
Why It Matters
Addiction affects individuals, families, and communities. Providing effective recovery services helps save lives, reduce public health impacts, and support long-term stability and independence.
Domestic/intimate partner violence intervention
What It Means
Strengthening prevention programs, survivor support services, emergency shelter options, legal assistance, and community education efforts.
Why It Matters
Domestic violence has devastating effects on individuals and families. Early intervention and comprehensive support help protect survivors, prevent future harm, and promote safer communities.
Homeless services
What It Means
Investing in emergency shelter, outreach programs, supportive housing, case management, and services that help people secure permanent housing.
Why It Matters
Stable housing is foundational to health, employment, and personal security. Effective homeless services help individuals regain stability while addressing the root causes of housing insecurity.
Bridge services for people in transition: the formerly
What It Means
Providing support for individuals navigating major life transitions, including formerly incarcerated people, youth aging out of foster care, and others facing barriers to stability.
Why It Matters
Transitional periods often come with significant challenges related to housing, employment, education, and support networks. Bridge services help reduce recidivism, prevent homelessness, and create pathways to long-term success.
Tenant protections & housing stability aid
What It Means
Supporting policies and programs that help tenants remain housed, prevent unjust displacement, provide rental assistance, and improve access to affordable housing resources.
Why It Matters
Housing stability is essential for economic security, educational success, and family wellbeing. Strong tenant protections help prevent homelessness and keep communities stable.
Tenant protections & housing stability aid
What It Means
Supporting policies and programs that help tenants remain housed, prevent unjust displacement, provide rental assistance, and improve access to affordable housing resources.
Why It Matters
Housing stability is essential for economic security, educational success, and family wellbeing. Strong tenant protections help prevent homelessness and keep communities stable.
Public Schools & enrichment/extra curricular programs
What It Means
Supporting public education and expanding access to extracurricular activities, arts programs, athletics, tutoring, mentorship, and other enrichment opportunities.
Why It Matters
Schools play a central role in community success. Enrichment programs help students develop skills, build confidence, improve academic outcomes, and create positive opportunities outside the classroom.
Legislative priorities
LGBTQ Priorities
Housing and Homelessness priorities
Centralized Homeless Prevention and Pro-Active Rental Assistance
Accessible requirements in new building code
Decriminalize homelessness
Public Restrooms and increased garbage cans.
Integration with behavioral health and substance use treatment
Safe parking and safe camping sites
Supportive services for housing retention
Navigation center with storage, laundry, showers.
Warming and cooling shelters
Pass affordable housing sales tax at the county (this would be about 7 million dollars a year for affordable housing and behavioral health)
Funding the Home Starts Here Initiative
Social Housing
Funds that assist in conversions to cooperative ownership.
Updates
Just Cause Eviction and tenant protections passed in 2018
Rent Stabilization in 2025
Small specialized shelter system implemented-beginning in October of 2024
Move toward smaller shelters and away from large congregate sheltering-TRAC and Hope House closed in 2024 and 2025.
Orgs Involved
Washington Housing Alliance
The Washington Housing Alliance brings advocates from across the state together to advocate for safe and affordable homes for all Washington residents.
Future Wise
Futurewise works throughout Washington state to encourage healthy, equitable and opportunity-rich communities, and to protect our most valuable farmlands, forests, and water resources through wise land use policies and practices.
Spokane Low Income Housing Consortium
The Spokane Low Income Housing Consortium (SLIHC) is a membership association that promotes the long-term availability of affordable housing in Greater Spokane.
Spectrum Center Spokane
Spectrum Center Spokane is an intersectional and intergenerational organization that uplifts the 2SLGBTQIA+ Community.
Shades of Motherhood
Dedicated to nurturing moms-to-be on their journey to motherhood. Providing holistic care and support.
Events, Workshops, and Trainings
No events available
Join the Movement
The Platform for Change is a community-driven movement for systemic change in Spokane. One that embraces a holistic approach to community safety and wellness. We believe Spokane deserves a just, compassionate, and effective safety and wellness network. So we’re building it together. Since 2020, organizations, people with lived experience, research-based knowledge, and systems expertise have come together to shape this vision.
Partner With Us
Are you an organization, business, or group aligned with our values? Let’s team up to build a safer, more just Spokane together.
Sign Up for Updates
Stay in the loop on campaign news, policy wins, and ways to get involved. We’ll keep it timely and worth your inbox space.
Volunteer Opportunities
From canvassing to community events, there’s a role for every skill set and schedule. Lend your time to a cause that needs you.
Facilitate a Town Hall
Help us bring this conversation to your neighborhood. We’ll provide the tools and support to host a town hall in your community.
Draft, Comment, or Review Policy
Have expertise or lived experience to share? Help shape the policies that will define this platform’s real-world impact.
Register for Events, Workshops & Trainings
Build skills, connect with neighbors, and deepen your understanding of the issues at upcoming sessions across Spokane.
Share the Platform
The more people who know about this work, the stronger it becomes. Help spread the word with your friends, family, and networks.
