Moscow-based homeless shelter looking for new home

MOSCOW — Family Promise of the Palouse in Moscow is looking for a new home for its daytime homeless shelter.

Family Promise operates the shelter out of the Jeff and Becky Martin Wellness Center, which has been owned by Gritman Medical Center since 2007.

The building on Palouse River Drive was built in 1957 and has significant infrastructure and maintenance problems, according to Gritman.

As a result, Gritman is planning to close its pool facility in the Martin Wellness Center in January. The hospital said in a news release that the pool is used for wellness classes and exercise by 85 people.

Gritman already moved nonswimming classes out of that building in August and into its facility on the 400 block of South Jackson Street in Moscow.

Family Promise is also a tenant of the Martin Wellness Center and it opened a shelter there in 2013, Director Autumn Shafer told the Moscow-Pullman Daily News.

She said the shelter is used by families who need a place to bathe, make meals, store their items and do laundry. Visitors can also work with Family Promise staff to search for housing, employment and child care. The nonprofit uses local church facilities as nighttime shelters.

Shafer said the shelter helps an average of 15 families a year. Eleven people are currently using the shelter.

Shafer said Family Promise is asking the public for help in finding available buildings to rent or buy.

She said the nonprofit is also accepting financial donations to prepare for a likely increase in rent costs. Family Promise is still operating in the Martin Wellness Center until it can find a new building in the spring.

Shafer said Family Promise is grateful to Gritman for letting the organization use the Martin Wellness Center building at a relatively low cost.

Gritman is completing a comprehensive facilities master plan in 2025 to determine the future of the building and the pool.

Kuipers can be reached at akuipers@dnews.com.