The Spokane Alliance invites you to participate in an open letter in solidarity with the Haitian community of Spokane. Spokane Alliance leaders from across the faith, labor, and nonprofit sectors are dismayed and angered by the national language of fear and dehumanization directed at Haitian immigrants.

The letter is here if you wish to sign: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScU-vMD_Oh8phs1Sj2rEIn_n14jMsLmMZ6oWsqAu6O0gY936g/viewform

Latest news on Spokane's efforts to create affordable housing units. 

https://www.spokesman.com/stories/2024/aug/26/city-of-spokane-to-spend-9-million-to-create-or-re/

Adithya Vegaraju organized with the Spokane Alliance (through the Health Equity Circle) for his first two years of medical school in the Washington State University Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine from 2020-2022.

Adithya is now in his fourth year of medical school in the Seattle area. His recent research on senior mental health was featured in the Spokesman Review. 

After studying older adults in urban Washington ZIP codes, the research showed that seniors rated their mental health as better when they were closer to trees and green spaces or water. His research was published in the journal Health and Place.

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/on-the-corner-of-homelessness-healthcare/id1694794125?i=1000643699202

In this podcast Luis explains his passion for exploring the spectrum of health from acute disease to social factors and their effect on health.

He works with people experiencing homelessness in the Street Medicine program, and teaches students as a clinical assistant professor at WSU’s College of Medicine.  

Kerra is currently deeply engaged with a new project, Raze Development, a non-profit in north Spokane that will offer an inclusive early childhood education center that focuses on culturally-based education for Black students.

Kerra says she was “inspired by the Salish School of Spokane and by the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of African American History and Culture, which both celebrate culture and understanding in addition to aligning with her goal to support the education of Black students in Spokane.”

The center will offer much needed extended hours to match parents’ work schedules.

Local Organizers and Leaders Making a Difference

It’s been a busy winter for the Spokane Alliance! Below is a recap of all the great work we have accomplished together in the past few months.  

In this newsletter, you will hear about Friends of Alliance, the current work of our teams, the important policies we are moving forward and meet our newest members.

Last week the Spokane Alliance’s victory to fund mental health support in childcare centers was featured in Mental Health Weekly!  Childcare team Co-chair  Kerra Bower, who is the creator of the pilot program,  was interviewed for the article. She provided an in-depth description of the challenges families and childcare centers have been facing and the goals of the pilot program.