An annual volunteer count found 135 homeless people in Kent, more than double the number from last year.
The 35th annual One Night Count of homeless people in King County took place between 2-5 a.m. on Jan. 23. More than 800 volunteers fanned out across the county to count the number of men, women and children who were homeless and sleeping outdoors without shelter.
The volunteers found people sleeping in vehicles and tents, riding late-night buses or curled up in blankets under bridges or in doorways, according to the Seattle/King County Coalition on Homelessness, which organizes the count.
Kent had 60 homeless in 2014, 53 in 2013 and 104 in 2012. This year’s count in Kent includes 44 people in cars or trucks, 28 in bushes or undergrowth and 19 walking around. The others were in structures, under roadways, in doorways, at city parks, bus stops or in alleys. The numbers included 21 men, six women and seven children under age 18. The genders were unknown for the rest of the people.
A total of 3,772 homeless people were counted in the county, a 21 percent increase over last year.
“This year’s count is heart-breaking evidence that we cannot cover our community’s most basic needs,” said Alison Eisinger, executive director of the Seattle/King County Coalition on Homelessness. “Clearly, the crisis of people homeless and without shelter is growing, and clearly we must respond by using every resource we have. Everyone needs a safe place to rest.”
The reasons people are without shelter vary. Lack of affordable housing, poverty, unemployment, untreated mental illness or addiction, and domestic violence all contribute to homelessness.
“We do the One Night Count to document how many people lack basic shelter in our community,” Eisinger said. “We already know that homelessness is a crisis. We know that there are good and effective programs that have helped and housed many people. Yet we have not matched capacity with the need. This count shows that our region’s unmet need for shelter and housing is greater than ever.”
The data inform elected officials and planners at all levels of government about the extent of homelessness in their community. The annual count does not include the thousands of people staying in shelters and transitional housing.
The number of homeless people in other cities included 2,813 in Seattle, 132 in Auburn, 105 in Federal Way and 79 in Renton.
For more information and to find out how you can help, go to homelessinfo.org.
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