By Alexandra Duggan
The Spokesman-Review
SPOKANE, Wash. 鈥� While the needs of Spokane鈥檚 most vulnerable are growing, Spokane Fire Department鈥檚 community assistance team is expanding.
The CARES team, formed in 2008 to connect people to housing, mental health or rehabilitation resources following a crisis, gained three new social workers this week. The move was funded through an approved proposal from Spokane Mayor Lisa Brown last year, which allocated $500,000 to the CARES team as part of an opioid settlement between the state of Washington and distributors and pharmacies that sold the addictive pills.
鈥淲hat鈥檚 so critically important is we will be able to expand services to provide more support around people with opioid use disorders and those experiencing homelessness,鈥� said CARES Director Sarah Foley. 鈥淚 am so excited we will be able to do more.鈥�
The CARES team jumps into action when the fire department 鈥� typically the behavioral response unit made up of a mental health professional and a firefighter paramedic 鈥� responds to a call of someone in crisis. That crisis could be anything like an overdose, a suicidal person, a mental health emergency or a person struggling with homelessness or substance abuse. The first responders will then refer the patient to the CARES team so they can assist in keeping the person stable enough before they鈥檙e connected to whatever resources they need. CARES contact is made with the patient typically one to three days following the initial emergency call.
Data from the Spokane Fire Department shows patient overdoses this year stayed level at around 160 overdoses for the first two months, then increased by nearly 21% in March. The levels don鈥檛 appear to be dropping within the last year, either. Overdose numbers from 2024 are sitting between 150 and 200 and fluctuating every month, the data shows.
Foley told The Spokesman-Review in an interview last year that if someone overdoses, their addiction might not be the first thing they want to work on with the CARES team. It depends on what their most pressing needs are at the moment, such as housing or mental health treatment.
鈥淲e also see a lot of services in Spokane are stressed. It鈥檚 difficult getting housing and getting through those housing assessments,鈥� Foley said Wednesday. 鈥淲hile the number of people needing help increases, so are the complexity of needs. People struggling with psychiatric disorders need support as those services are trying to process them. Sometimes getting into services is a long wait, and CARES can fill that gap.鈥�
When the CARES team takes on the work to fill those gaps, it typically involves meeting with a person every week to make sure their needs are being met while they wait for services. The team can work with people until they鈥檙e connected because CARES isn鈥檛 billing for services, meaning there is no timeline they have to follow 鈥渁s long as they are making progress,鈥� Foley said.
The team is joined by a senior case manager, a case manager focused on outreach for the homeless and one with general skills who can do 鈥渁 little bit of everything鈥� to close service gaps. It鈥檚 a big jump from the last seven years of Foley being the sole CARES employee. While she got help from social work students from local colleges, students are gone in the summer and during school breaks, rendering it difficult for CARES services to operate with ease year-round.
鈥淚 think I鈥檝e had wonderful students and it has helped us provide needed service to this community,鈥� Foley said. 鈥淣ow we can provide a greater depth of that service.鈥�
漏 2025 The Spokesman-Review (Spokane, Wash.).
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