Homeless Count Reveals 3 Percent Increase in King County

The 2012 One Night County of the homeless in King County found 3 percent more homeless people than in 2011.

The count done by volunteers in the early morning hours of Jan. 27, found 2,514 homeless people compared to 2,442 in 2011. Several new areas were counted this year as well, bringing the total count to 2,594.

Most of the homeless, 1,898, were found in Seattle and 174 were found on buses. The Eastside had 138 homeless, Kent, 104, and Federal Way, 77, and Renton, 73.

The Eastside includes counts from Kirkland, Bellevue, and Redmond. While somewhat rare on Mercer Island, there is a small and often temporary homeless population locally, according to Mercer Island Youth and Family Services. Patch reported earlier last year on a in the Mercer Island School District.

The North End including Shoreline, Lake Forest Park and Bothell had the fewest at 31 homeless. 

Seattle is one of ten communities that participated in point-in-time counts. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) mandates point-in-time counts at least every two years for municipalities applying for federal homeless housing funds under the King County received over $20 million in McKinney-Vento funds this year.