Good Evening, Planning Team: Look forward to catching up with you at our next scheduled Planning Team call this Friday, Feb. 6 at 9AM. Since our last call, the co-leads of the four Advisory Committees (formally called sub-committees) have met to discuss the first meetings on Friday, Feb. 20. Below is a summary of the committee areas of focus, leads and the details shared in the invitation sent to the initially identified rosters. Participation on these committees is open to the public who can sign up using this intake form, also available from the homepage on SafeandHealthySpokane.org. After tomorrow’s Task Force #5 meeting, there will also be broader community promotion to encourage signing up to get involved. Committee Rosters: View the Committee Rosters online and attached. We welcome additional recommendations, please email to info@safeandhealthyspokane.org. You can also email contacts directly and copy the info for follow up on our end. Advisory Committee Overview: The Task Force established four advisory committees aligned with the Sequential Intercept Model (SIM), a nationally used framework that examines key points where people interact with crisis response, hospitals, homelessness, law enforcement, courts, jails reentry, and community supervision—and identifies opportunities to strengthen care and coordination. Each committee has 3 co-leads that are members of the Task Force. - Advisory Committee A: Prevention & Crisis Response (co-leads: Angel Tomeo Sam, Jan Downing, Justin Johnson) Focus: Pre-arrest prevention and crisis response to ensure timely, clinically appropriate care. - Advisory Committee B: Custody Strategies & Courts (co-leads: Dr. Melissa Mace, Judge Tony Hazel, Mike Sparber) Focus: Post-arrest diversion, screening, treatment access, and judicial collaboration - Advisory Committee C: Reentry, Discharge & Community Corrections (co-leads: Erik Lamb, Maggie Yates, Matt Albright) Focus: Reentry planning, housing, employment, and continuity of care to support long-term recovery. - Advisory Committee D: Facilities, Infrastructure & System Coordination (co-leads: Chud Wendle, Virla Spencer, John Browne) Focus: Treatment capacity, jail and healthcare facilities, workforce, and system coordination to ensure 24/7 access to services. - This committee focus will also complement the Planning Team Facilities Ad Hoc Group work Committee Purpose: Committees bring together lived experience and technical expertise to develop consensus-based recommendations informed by community input, past studies and information, the asset assessment completed by The Leifman Group, and available data. These recommendations will be reviewed by the Task Force and finalized for delivery to local jurisdictions in May. Commitment: Advisory committee participants are asked to make a meaningful commitment and are expected to attend all meetings and contribute between sessions. Note, all four committees meet at the same time, so participants must select one committee. - Three in-person meetings between February and April 2026 (one per month, 4 hours each) - Meeting dates: February 20, March 13, April 24 (each meeting is from 1-5 PM) - About 2 additional hours per month for reading or follow-up work - Occasional small-group coordination, as needed Other Ways to Engage: For those interested in supporting the work but cannot commit to the full advisory committee schedule, there are other ways to stay involved. They are encouraged to sign up for additional engagement opportunities online: Safe & Healthy Spokane – Get Involved Today! There will also be a more in-depth discussion on broader community engagement during tomorrow’s Task Force meeting and the presentations we’re making in the coming weeks to the BoCC and city councils. More to come! Thanks, Emilie Sign up for the DSP eNewsletter, check our downtown events calendar and find your next destination in the downtown directory.