Slog

News & Arts

Line Out

Music & the City
at Night

« President Obama and the US Senator-… | The Morning News: Economy Up, Dems… »

Friday, January 29, 2010

City Homeless Count Finds Five Percent Fewer on Streets

Posted by Dominic Holden on Fri, Jan 29, 2010 at 8:35 AM

The number of homeless people living on the streets of King County dropped by five percent from this time last year, according to an annual one-night count coordinated by the Seattle/King County Coalition for the Homeless. Nearly 1,000 volunteers began counting last night at 2:00 a.m., finding 2,675 people living on the streets in the same areas the group looked last year.

But the count is not necessarily an indication that all homelessness is down, because the group doesn't count all places homeless people may live. For instance, the count does not include an estimated 6,000 people living in shelters. Joshua Okrent, a spokesman for the Seattle/King County Coalition for the Homeless, explains that an additional 84 homeless people were found on streets in areas not covered in 2009, such as portions of Renton and Kent.

Several factors could contribute to the decrease in homeless people living on the streets, said Committee to End Homeless director Bill Block in a statement released this morning. His group is implementing the Ten Year Plan to End Homelessness in King County. He says an growing awareness of homelessness and a wider availability of services could be helping people get off the streets. Says Block, “We know that we have programs that work, every single person who was counted tonight must be taken as a call to redouble our efforts, bringing proven programs to the scale they need to fully address the problem.”

However, the Seattle/King County Coalition for the Homeless warns that Governor Christine Gregoire’s proposed state budget for 2010 and 2011 would cut more than $3 billion in human services, including mental health programs and health insurance for the poor, which could exacerbate homelessness by next year.

Comments (15) RSS

Oldest First Unregistered On Registered On Add a comment

maybe the recession means people give them less money so the career of asking for money on public streets has been affected by the recession just like construction, real estate agents, etc.

if you're casting about for theories...

Posted by hard to give if no green in pocket, duh on January 29, 2010 at 8:48 AM

These homeless counts are massively inaccurate and shouldn't be used to report things like "5% fewer on streets"

Posted by I'm 85 Years Old on January 29, 2010 at 9:13 AM

I don't believe it, either. I'm seeing homeless in more off-the-beaten-path places, like the courtyard of my doctor's office. It makes me wonder if maybe the newly homeless don't congregate in the usual places.

Posted by Patti on January 29, 2010 at 9:17 AM

@4, from what I have heard at the shelter I volunteer at what was said above is correct, they are going to different places (avoiding police harrasement mainly) and as there are newer homeless they don't know the usual hang-outs.

Posted by Cato the Younger Younger on January 29, 2010 at 9:22 AM

There are more car campers, too - and they go out of their way not to be found.

Posted by Mr. X on January 29, 2010 at 9:24 AM

Maybe programs in the city are actually working.

I'm biased, because my wife has worked hard for almost a decade for an agency in Seattle that houses homeless people, most of them permanently. She's also done some of those homeless counts, late at night around the city...

Posted by Peter F on January 29, 2010 at 9:31 AM

Nah.

We just gave them bus tickets back to the Eastside where they came from.

Posted by Will in Seattle

on January 29, 2010 at 9:32 AM

@5 Apparently all the car/RV campers are hiding on Phinney Ave by the zoo every night.

At least that's what you'd think, driving down the street.

Posted by Homey on January 29, 2010 at 9:39 AM

I am not convinced that they have better than a 5% margin of error.

Posted by Reg on January 29, 2010 at 9:41 AM

Trivia: people living with their family or crashing on a friend's couch are considered homeless, in Seattle.

Posted by Peter F on January 29, 2010 at 10:08 AM

@10

Trivia: people living with their family or crashing on a friend's couch are considered homeless by the federal definition of homelessness articulated in 42 USC § 11302.

Posted by Judah

on January 29, 2010 at 10:29 AM

$3 Billion? 10% out of our $34 billion 2-year budget? is that correct?

Posted by DavidG

on January 29, 2010 at 10:50 AM

@11, just saying those people are probably harder to count or find than people in the park or under overpasses or whatever.

Posted by Peter F on January 29, 2010 at 11:07 AM

Maybe the housing market's plunge has created more affordable rental housing.

Posted by Homele$$ on January 29, 2010 at 1:43 PM

Sadly, many of the the homeless around the u-district have died in the last few years: Jerry the drunk, John the Crackhead, a couple of the "beer.com" guys. It's a rough life out there, with the elements and the alcohol and drug abuse.

Posted by Roosevelt