Inslee touts new housing program for Spokane’s homeless

SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) — Washington Gov. Jay Inslee was in Spokane Monday to preview the opening of a new housing project for homeless people, calling the Catalyst Project a step toward ending the state’s homelessness crisis. The new housing, in a converted hotel, aims to provide roughly 100 beds along with mental health and substance abuse counseling and other services to people experiencing homelessness. The services are designed to help people transition to more permanent housing. Catholic Charities of Eastern Washington is running the housing project. The housing is part of an effort to close a large homeless encampment on Washington State Department of Transportation Property in Spokane.