Snohomish County Releases 2022 Point-In-Time Count Of Homelessness

Edmonds WA

16 May, 2022

10:47 PM

Description

Press release from the Snohomish County Government: May 16, 2022 Despite increased efficiencies and investments across the system which continue to assist more households each year, the total PIT count—including individuals residing in shelter, transitional housing, and living without shelter—is the highest it has been since 2012. From its low point in 2015, when 829 people were identified, the PIT count increased 42.8% to 1,184 in 2022 and represents an increase of 52 individuals from 2020 when the last complete count was conducted. Within that overall count, the number of people living unsheltered decreased by 13.2% from 673 in 2020 to 584 in the 2022 count. Conversely, the sheltered count (600) is a reflection of system capacity and is the highest it has been since 2013. This increase of 30.7% over the number in 2020 (459) is due to an increase in shelter capacity including cold weather shelters which were open the night of the count. The count varied in important ways from previous years. The number of households with children experiencing homelessness (92) did not change from the last full count in 2020, but the number of households experiencing sheltered homelessness increased 52.4% (168 to 256) while unsheltered households with children decreased 73.3% (116 to 31). There was also a decrease in the number of households with children experiencing chronic homelessness from 2020 (37) to 2022 (29). Households with only children also decreased by 50% (30 to 15). The total number of households without children experiencing unsheltered homelessness changed very little from 2020 to 2022, but there was an increase in households without children experiencing chronic homelessness (448 to 499). This means that more than 50% of all households without children experiencing homelessness in Snohomish County are chronically homeless. Of note, there was a decrease in the number of people whose race is Black, African American, or African from 11.2% in 2020 to 6.4% in 2022. In contrast, the number of people who are Hispanic/Latin(a)(o)(x) showed a slight increased from 10.6% to 11.23%. The number of households with a veteran increased from 41 to 46. The percentage of people having a gender of female or male remained relatively unchanged, but there was a slight increase in the number of people who are transgender, questioning, or who have a gender that is not singularly female or male (e.g., non-binary, genderfluid, agender, culturally specific gender) from .97% to 1.44%. While an imperfect measure, the PIT count is one of the tools used to inform priorities for federal, state, and local funding. It also helps identify trends and craft solutions for the needs of vulnerable individuals and families. The analysis and overall trend data are utilized by the Snohomish County Partnership to End Homelessness as one of many tools to track progress toward goals to prevent, reduce, and end homelessness. Additional historical Snohomish County PIT information can be explored at https://snohomishcountywa.gov/2857/Point-In-Time. Press Release... This press release was produced by the Snohomish County Government. The views expressed here are the author's own.