Council: 600 were counted, thousands more likely homeless in county
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Last updated 4/26/2023 at 2:14pm
At the end of January, volunteers were dispersed throughout Okanogan County to undertake a count of people without housing.
The annual Point-In-Time Count found 600 without housing in the county.
The Okanogan County Community Action Council had partnered with surrounding social service agencies across the County to complete the Point-In-Time Count (PIT), an annual count to get a general census of the number of people in the county experiencing homelessness.
It was completed Jan. 23 through Jan. 26 across the county.
Volunteers traveled north to Oroville, south to Pateros, east to Nespelem, and west to the Methow Valley.
Individuals counted in the PIT Count were asked some general interview questions regarding their living situations during that week.
The information collected is extremely valuable, as the data collected is not only used to get a better idea of the houseless population but provides a reference when social service agencies across the county apply for any kind of state or federal grant funding, explained Communications and Outreach Coordinator Miranda L. Maple with the community action council.
“The total number of individuals experiencing homelessness was recorded to be 600 after completing the Point-In-Time Count,” Maple said in a release, “however, local agencies estimate the total number to be somewhere between 3,500 to 5,500. While the system to collect data is not perfect, we hope that continued interest and participation will help to bring more awareness and solutions to the housing crisis in Okanogan County.”
The U.S. Dept. of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) defines homelessness as living outside, in shelters, in hotels, in RVs not connected to services (water, sewer, electricity), and includes multiple families living in the same household (doubling up).
“Homelessness is a humanitarian crisis occurring not just in Okanogan County, but nationwide,” the Okanogan County Community Action Council’s website says. “Increased cost of living, high rental prices, long low-income housing waitlists, and a grocery cost increase of nearly 12% (USA Today, 2023), all contribute to homelessness.
“Nearly 59% of all Americans are one large medical bill, natural disaster, or missed paycheck away from being homeless, according to a study completed by Charles Schwab & Co. in 2019, and that was before the COVID-19 Pandemic.”
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