EVERETT — Updated numbers from last month’s Point in Time count give a fuller picture of the rise in the area’s homeless population.
Volunteers found 1,118 people in precarious housing situations, compared to 966 in 2015. The 15.7 percent increase owes entirely to people living without shelter, in encampments, cars and abandoned buildings.
“The PIT count confirmed what people are seeing: that there’s a big uptick in the number of people who are unsheltered and out in the street,” county human services director Mary Jane Brell Vujovic said. “Within that population, a number of people are chronically homeless.”
This year’s count of the homeless remains below the 1,272 located in 2014 and 1,966 in 2013.
To get the data, volunteers fanned out across the county on Jan. 28 and conducted interviews. The count is performed every year on a single day in late January in accordance with state and federal rules.
Volunteers ask about people’s living arrangements and background.
Snohomish County’s Human Service’s Department, which oversees the survey, reported the first batch of numbers on Feb. 1.
Totals changed slightly as county staff identified people who were double-counted. Others were excluded for reasons such as incomplete data.
The rise in unsheltered people remains steep.
Volunteers found 471 people living without shelter this year compared to 312 in 2015. That’s a 51 percent increase.
Among the unsheltered, 303 were living outside, 147 in vehicles and 21 in abandoned buildings. Eighty-seven were under the age of 18.
The overwhelming majority suffer from what human services officials refer to as a disabling condition, such as a chronic illness, developmental disability, serious mental illness or substance abuse.
The most common reason people gave for why they became homeless was losing a job. That’s been consistent year to year.
While that was the most common response countywide, there were differences by area. Slightly more people in Everett and other central parts of the county mentioned a family crisis or break-up as the biggest factor that left them without a stable home. Volunteers received similar feedback in east county.
People in north county more often cited drug or alcohol abuse.
Forty-seven veterans were identified during this year’s count: 36 without shelter and 20 living outside. Their average age was 53.5 years.
Some minority groups are disproportionately represented. This year’s figures on race were unavailable last week, but African-Americans have shown up previously in higher numbers. Though African-Americans make up only about 2.5 percent of the county’s overall population, they accounted for 10 percent of the homeless people interviewed for last year’s Point in Time survey.
The homelessness figures won’t be complete until human services staff sends them to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development in April. The data should help federal, state and local agencies make decisions about where to focus their attention and money.
Noah Haglund: 425-339-3465; nhaglund@heraldnet.com. Twitter: @NWhaglund.
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