Trending...
- Spokane: Construction Will Impact South Stevens Street - 108
- Kasinohai Audit: Most Slots Could Be Affected by Finland's Draft Gambling Rules
- Spokane: SPD Participate in High Visibility Enforcement During Hoopfest Weekend
Justin de Ruyter, Spokane Fire PIO, jderuyter@spokanecity.org
The Spokane Fire Department is pleased to announce the continued expansion of its Community Assistance Response Team (CARES) with the addition of a new social worker, who officially joined the team this week. This latest hire marks the final phase of a recent staffing initiative that welcomed two other social workers to the program. The expansion has been made possible through funding received from opioid lawsuit settlement dollars, reinforcing the City's commitment to addressing behavioral health and substance use challenges in the community.
Launched in 2008, CARES is the department's social response initiative to improve quality of life and reduce unnecessary EMS use by addressing social determinants of health. When EMS providers encounter individuals with needs beyond medical care, they refer them to the CARES Team. The team—usually social work students from Eastern Washington University—conducts home visits, assesses social service needs, and connects clients with community resources, advocating to ensure they receive necessary support.
More on Washingtoner
As demand for the team's services grows yearly, we are grateful for the additional staffing. With this expansion, the CARES Team will increase referrals following 911 responses to overdoses. The team will provide early intervention for individuals struggling with substance use disorders by connecting them to treatment resources and discussing harm reduction strategies. This added capacity will also allow the team to respond more frequently to requests from responding crews or provide same-day outreach, especially to unhoused individuals.
"The CARES Team plays a critical role in our efforts to help those impacted by the opioid crisis and struggling with substance use disorders," said Mayor Lisa Brown. "By expanding this team, we are increasing our case management capacity and investing in a model with proven positive results."
"We will be able to support the responding crews more and serve the most vulnerable populations in Spokane," said Sarah Foley, CARES Team Manager. "I love the work that I am doing with the CARES Team. Our team gets the opportunity to make a positive impact when people need help, and we get to work with an entire department dedicated to serving the community."
The Spokane Fire Department is pleased to announce the continued expansion of its Community Assistance Response Team (CARES) with the addition of a new social worker, who officially joined the team this week. This latest hire marks the final phase of a recent staffing initiative that welcomed two other social workers to the program. The expansion has been made possible through funding received from opioid lawsuit settlement dollars, reinforcing the City's commitment to addressing behavioral health and substance use challenges in the community.
Launched in 2008, CARES is the department's social response initiative to improve quality of life and reduce unnecessary EMS use by addressing social determinants of health. When EMS providers encounter individuals with needs beyond medical care, they refer them to the CARES Team. The team—usually social work students from Eastern Washington University—conducts home visits, assesses social service needs, and connects clients with community resources, advocating to ensure they receive necessary support.
More on Washingtoner
- Michigan's Plane Crash Data Points Away from Big Airports
- 2iG Solutions Launches MGA Insight, Bringing AI-Powered Business Intelligence to Managing General Agents
- A Better Way to Find a Real Estate Agent Is Coming Soon
- Talentica Software Earns a Place Among India's Top 100 Great Mid-size Workplaces 2026
- Spokane: Behavioral Health Unit Expansion
As demand for the team's services grows yearly, we are grateful for the additional staffing. With this expansion, the CARES Team will increase referrals following 911 responses to overdoses. The team will provide early intervention for individuals struggling with substance use disorders by connecting them to treatment resources and discussing harm reduction strategies. This added capacity will also allow the team to respond more frequently to requests from responding crews or provide same-day outreach, especially to unhoused individuals.
"The CARES Team plays a critical role in our efforts to help those impacted by the opioid crisis and struggling with substance use disorders," said Mayor Lisa Brown. "By expanding this team, we are increasing our case management capacity and investing in a model with proven positive results."
"We will be able to support the responding crews more and serve the most vulnerable populations in Spokane," said Sarah Foley, CARES Team Manager. "I love the work that I am doing with the CARES Team. Our team gets the opportunity to make a positive impact when people need help, and we get to work with an entire department dedicated to serving the community."
0 Comments
Latest on Washingtoner
- Spokane City Council Legislative Meetings Now Wednesday Evenings
- The Story Tree Literacy Project Seeks Publishers and Librarians to Help Children Become Polyglots
- Discard Junk Removal Named #1 Junk Removal Company in Sacramento Out of 189 Businesses Evaluated
- Spokane: Firefighters Prevent Extension During Fast-Moving House Fire
- J&J Exterminating Mourns the Passing of Founder Bobby John Sr
- Delirious Comedy Club Transforms Into Las Vegas' Newest Live Comedy Studio With Weekly Delirious TV Tapings
- BitTitan Advances MigrationWiz with New Capabilities, Platform Enhancements, and Product Leadership Update
- Sara Abbas Receives "Eniochos" Charioteer Award at 2026 Who is Who International Awards
- Detained at 95: South Korea's Prosecution of a Religious Leader Draws International Alarm
- CCHR: DOJ Takedown Exposes Over $220 Million Defrauded in Behavioral Mental Health Fraud Schemes
- Lady Liberty Is Coming Home: Historic WWII A-26 Invader Begins Her Final Journey to the Tulsa Air & Space Museum
- Homicide Investigation – 1000 block of South Tacoma Way
- The Lashe Announces Limited-Time Sale on Professional Premade Fan Lash Extension Trays
- PropAccount.com Adds Prediction Markets to Its Multi-Asset Prop Firm Platform
- Rising star Hip-Hop and R&B Force Della Drops Highly Anticipated New Single, "Throw It"
- Artists for Resistance present "The Art of Resistance"
- UK Financial Ltd. Opens Test-Phase Maya 3 Liquidity Pool on Uniswap with DEX Screener Visibility for Market-Smoothing Ahead of CATEX Exchange Launch
- A Declaration of Permanence — AI Memory Sealed to Bitcoin on Independence Day
- Wagga Trucks set to expand to the Canberra Region as authorised dealer for Volvo, UD & Mack along with Freighter Group Trailers
- June Employment Report Reveals Hidden Weakness Beneath Lower Unemployment