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King County homeless count drops for first time in 7 years

A resident walks past a row of tiny houses at a homeless encampment in Seattle where full size homes stand behind on Nov. 9, 2017. After years of increase, the number of people experiencing homelessness in Seattle and King County appears to have declined. (Elaine Thompson / AP)

SEATTLE – After years of increase, the number of people experiencing homelessness in Seattle and King County appears to have declined.

SeattlePI.com reported a decrease of 8% from 2018 to 2019 was confirmed Friday with the release of the final Count Us In report from All Home King County.

The report is based on a count conducted overnight in January, and while considered the best source of data available on the homeless population, it is also widely thought to be an undercount.

In Seattle, the count found 7,797 people experiencing homelessness, 3,558 of whom were without shelter during the night of the count.

The unsheltered population represented a decrease of nearly 1,000 people, while across the county the number of people in emergency shelters increased, possibly because of added capacity in regional shelters.

The overall decrease is the first documented in the last seven years.