Point-In-Time Homeless Count: Volunteers Must Register By Jan. 16

TACOMA, WA - Only three 2-hour trainings remain to prepare volunteers for the annual Point-In-Time Count of houseless individuals in Pierce County. One of the final trainings will be held Thursday night in Tacoma, while the two remaining trainings scheduled before the Jan. 25 PIT Count will be held next week.

Nearly 340 volunteers counted more than 1,600 people who were surveyed and documented as homeless across Pierce County in January 2018.

"Everyone has a story. Everyone counts, no matter where they live," county officials said in a statement. "As a volunteer, you are part of the solution."

Thursday's training will be held at the Pierce County Soundview Building at 3602 Pacific Ave. in Tacoma from 5 to 7 p.m. Next week's trainings are scheduled as follows:

South Hill Library - 15420 Meridian E., Puyallup

• Monday, Jan. 14, from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m.
  

Bonney Lake Library - 18501 90th St. E., Bonney Lake

• Wednesday, Jan. 16, from 5 to 7 p.m.

Prospective volunteers must be at least 18 years old, have access to a smart phone, and have a willingness and ability to perform the following required tasks:

• Search for unsheltered homeless within designated locations;
• Survey individuals experiencing homelessness using a mobile app;
• Provide individuals who have been surveyed with incentives as available; and
• Attend one of the remaining training events.

Folks who want to help out but are unable to volunteer or commit the time needed for the actual PIT Count are encouraged to help by making a donation to assist the homeless individuals being counted.

Suggested donations include warm clothes and blankets, hygiene and first aid kits, and packaged, nonperishable food items like granola bars and/or bottled water. The donations, county officials said, "provide a starting point for the conversation (with volunteers) and are given out to anyone experiencing homelessness on the night of the count."

All donations will be accepted through Wednesday, Jan. 23, and can be dropped off at the following locations:

• Lakewood Community Center, 9112 Lakewood Dr. SW. #121, in Lakewood;
• Pierce County Soundview Building, 3602 Pacific Ave., in Tacoma;
• Share and Care House, 702 23rd Ave. SE, in Puyallup; and
• Vadis, 1701 Elm St. E., in Sumner.

"During the count, human service professionals and volunteers survey people experiencing homelessness," county officials explained. "Communities use the survey data to better understand why people become homeless, plan thoughtful programs that respond to their needs, track trends over time, and identify where people sleep. Last year during the count, most people reported they lived in Pierce County before experiencing homelessness, showing that it is a crisis anyone can face."

The count held in January 2018 reportedly saw 337 volunteers participate — a 53 percent increase from the year before, which still saw an incredible 219 volunteers help out by counting and surveying individuals found at area shelters and outdoor encampments throughout the county.

Homelessness is prevalent throughout the Pierce County area, officials noted in the 2018 report, though the most dense concentrations can be found around Tacoma, Lakewood, Puyallup, Spanaway, and Fife.

With more than 1,600 people officially labeled homeless in some sense during the 2018 count, 256 (16 percent) of those individuals cited a lack of affordable housing as the primary reason for their situation. Next came underemployment or low income, which was reported by 172 people (11 percent).

Other common reasons were related to evictions and/or mortgage foreclosures, the loss of a job, or domestic violence — specifically victims.

Perhaps interestingly, the overwhelming majority of people surveyed (438, or 27 percent) could not cite any reason for their homelessness, and more than half (60 percent) claimed they had no resources to speak of, such as an income or state food benefits.

Nearly 150 people (9 percent) said they held gainful employment, the report showed, while 5 percent of those surveyed said they received benefits from either pensions or other retirement payouts, social security, unemployment, or the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

It's unclear whether the 2019 PIT Count will acknowledge those whose benefits have been affected by the ongoing government shutdown.

More than 950 people, or 59 percent, were between the ages of 25 and 54, while 250 (15 percent) were younger than 18 years old.

Previous yearly counts show a kind of ebb and flow of homeless people surveyed, which may not necessarily reflect the actual numbers of homeless individuals in the area due to the logistics of holding the count. However, the 2018 count reported only the second highest number of people located, with the 2016 count reporting a total of 1,762 people surveyed.

Incidentally, of the 1,762 people counted in 2016, well more than half (1,268) reported having some kind of shelter. The numbers from 2018 show a more balanced ratio, with 878 reporting some kind of shelter and 750 reporting they live outside.

"Each year, the Count is a key measure used to inform priorities for federal, state, and local funding and helps gauge progress toward ending homelessness for vulnerable individuals and families," Pierce County Human Services Director Peter Ansara said in a statement. "We are thankful to the many volunteers that help us through this effort."

Anyone interested in volunteering can register online at PierceCountyWA.gov. And for more information on the PIT Count, volunteer opportunities, or donations, call Valeri Knight from Pierce County Human Services at 253-798-6931.

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