More than 11K homeless counted in King County

More than 11,000 homeless people have been identified in King County.

All Home, which conducted and reported the findings of the Point-in-Time Count, says 11,643 people were homeless on the night of Jan. 27. Forty-seven percent, or 5,485 people, were unsheltered. The other 6,158 were either living in an emergency shelter, transitional house, or safe haven.

Among those counted, 70 percent of the county’s unsheltered population were located in Seattle at the time. The city was also the location of 76 percent of people residing in shelters, transitional housing, or safe havens.

Of the total counted, 77 percent say they were living in King County at the time they lost their housing. Nine percent were living out of the state; 5 percent were living in Snohomish County; 5 percent in Pierce County; 4 percent became homeless in another county in Washington; and 1 percent came from Thurston.

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The count was conducted between 2-6 a.m. on Jan. 27. The “blitz count” was performed by a large team using observation-based methodology.

The count was followed up by a representative survey, which was used to estimate the characteristics of the local population experiencing homelessness.

The Point-In-Time Count was formerly referred to as the One Night Count in past years. It’s important to note that the group conducting this year’s tally is different from the previous year, which includes a change in methodology. Key changes include: shifting from covering “known areas” to a canvassing of census tracts in the county; a sample-based qualitative survey that included shelter and service locations, as well as street locations; and an incorporation of a youth and young adult count component focusing on unaccompanied people 25 years or younger, which was previously conducted separately.

However, the definition of who is homeless has not changed much between the years.

According to previous homeless counts, the number of people living in shelters or outside has been steadily on the rise since 2012. The former One Night Count results found 8,830 homeless people in 2012. There were 10,688 homeless people in 2016. The low over the past 10 years was in 2007, when 7,839 people were counted.

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