Homeless residents to be counted
The Spokane Homeless Coalition is seeking several dozen volunteers to help in a state-mandated count of the homeless population during the week of Jan. 20.
Amy Jones, count coordinator, said she is looking for people who are 18 or older and who would be willing to spend shifts of one to four hours counting homeless persons.
The counts are done when homeless show up for assistance at government and nonprofit agencies in the county.
This year’s count will be the third consecutive tally of homeless as required by the state’s 2005 Homelessness Housing and Assistance Act, which sets a goal of reducing homelessness by 50 percent over 10 years.
In 2006, the count turned up about 1,500 homeless persons. The number fell to 1,100 homeless persons last year.
The count is intended to establish how many people in the community are living without homes on a single day in the winter, but the actual number of people experiencing homelessness is higher over the course of time.
Jones said that 6,188 persons went homeless in Spokane County at some point during 2006, the last year for which a complete count is available.
By complying with the counting requirements, the city is eligible for about $700,000 annually in tax money raised through real estate transactions locally. In addition, Spokane County is launching a $3 million project through a state grant to reduce homeless among people who are coming out of the criminal justice system, including mental health court, Jones said.
Most of the counting this year will be done on Jan. 24, but some locations will have volunteers working on other days of that week, Jones said. The event goes by the name Every One Counts.
All of the counting will be done at agencies. “We won’t send anybody out into the streets or under bridges,” Jones said. The count includes people who are living temporarily with friends or family members.
The homeless coalition has representatives from the city, county, state agencies and nonprofit organizations that serve the homeless, including shelters, meal programs and public assistance.