Unsheltered homelessness up 37 percent in Pierce County | Point in Time

Pierce County has seen a dramatic rise in homelessness over the last 12 months. Based on the 2016 Point in Time homelessness report released today, the number of people and families living outside, in cars or other places not meant for habitation has risen 37 percent since last year.

On Jan. 29, 2016, nearly 2,000 people in Pierce County were homeless.

“This is clearly a sobering report,” said Doug Richardson, Pierce County Council Chair. “It is particularly upsetting to learn that so many of those who are homeless are without a home due to domestic violence. My colleagues on the Council and I intend to use the results from the gap analysis currently underway to determine more specific needs and a plan of action.”

Survey Highlights

1,268 individuals are in shelters; 494 are unsheltered
55 percent of homeless are single adults; 40 percent included family members and 5 percent are unaccompanied youth and young adults
Slightly more than half are male
Nearly one-quarter of the homeless surveyed are under 18
When asked their last permanent residence, less than 5 percent of the homeless had a home outside of Pierce County
Nearly 20 percent spent the night before the survey sleeping outside
The most common reason cited for homelessness was the desire to flee domestic violence

“Unfortunately, there is no one magic solution to ending homelessness,” said Pat McCarthy, Pierce County Executive. “However, we must use all of the funding sources we have available and all of our partnerships to shape a creative, regional approach to this crisis. We all have the same goal: to make homelessness rare, brief and non-recurring.”

The full results of the survey may be found atwww.piercecountywa.org/pointintime.

Methodology

The Point in Time survey was conducted by more than 200 trained volunteers during daylight hours. Volunteers went to encampments, shelters, food banks, libraries, community centers and any other place where persons experiencing homelessness may be present. The process included a comprehensive interview that incorporated questions about family composition, length of time homeless, presence of disabling condition and the factors that contributed to their homeless crisis.