Title
Briefing on 2019 Thurston County Homeless Census Preliminary Results
Recommended Action
Committee Recommendation:
Not referred to a committee
City Manager Recommendation:
Receive a briefing on the preliminary results from the 2019 Thurston County Homeless Census. Briefing only; No action requested
Report
Issue:
Whether to receive a briefing on the results of the 2019 Thurston County Homeless Census?
Staff Contact:
Anna Schlecht, Community Service Programs Manager, Community Planning & Development Department, Housing Program, 360-753-8181.
Presenter(s):
Anna Schlecht, Community Service Programs Manager
Keylee Marineau, Thurston County Homeless Coordinator
Background and Analysis:
The Council will receive a presentation on the preliminary results of the 2019 Thurston County Point in Time (PIT) Count of Homeless Persons. More commonly referred to as the "Homeless Census", the PIT is how we learn who is homeless and why. The City contracts with Thurston County to fulfill the County's obligation to conduct the annual PIT Homeless Census. The attached "Point in Time Homeless Snapshot for Thurston County 2019" presents the data that is available at the time of publication of this staff report. Also attached is "Thurston County - 14 Year Trends in Homelessness 2006 - 2019," which charts some of the changes over the past 14 years.
Initial Thurston County PIT Results: In short, the PIT found 800 homeless people willing to participate in the 2019 Homeless Census. This represents a 4 percent or 35 person decrease from 2018, but an 81 percent or 359 person increase since the baseline year of 2006. The number of people staying in emergency shelters went down 29 percent or 97 people, going from 333 in 2018 to 236 in 2019. This reflects the temporary loss of beds at Salvation Army and the non-participation of Union Gospel Mission which receives no public money for its shelter program and therefore is not compelled to report. The number of unsheltered pe...
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