COMMUNITY COURT

Spokane Public Library served as a location for Municipal Community Court from 2013-2019, in a collaborative effort aimed to reduce and address quality of life offenses in downtown Spokane. More than 1,000 participants a year accessed a variety of services during Community Court including behavioral health, housing, crime victim assistance, health insurance, education/job training, and more. Once the remodeled Central Library opened in 2022, Community Court re-launched at this location. 

“Bringing Community Court back to Central Library is just one of the many efforts Spokane Public Library is actively working on to create structural community change at a larger level and address the Social Determinants of Health.“ – Bethiah Streeter, Social Services Manager at Spokane Public Library

To learn more about restorative justice see these articles:

• Restorative Libraries: Restorative Justice Practices and How to Implement Them (Library Journal, 2021) 
• Courting Libraries: Partnerships Bring Social Services and Restorative Justice to Communities (Library Journal, 2020)