New count shows homelessness in King County, Seattle, down for first time in 7 years

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

A little more than 11,000 people were found to be living on the streets of King County during the 2019 Count Us In tally, according to data released Thursday. That figure, while still astounding, represents the first decrease since 2012.

The January count found 11,199 people experiencing homelessness across the county, with a little more than half the people (5,971) sheltered in emergency shelters, "safe havens" and transitional housing, and the remainder (5,228) unsheltered, according to a brief news release from All Home King County, which conducted the count.

The overall number dropped 8% from the 2018 count. The number of people living unsheltered dropped 17% from the year prior.

"This year's results and our local system's data indicate progress," said Kira Zylstra, acting director of All Home. "More people in our community are connected with services than ever before and permanent housing placements through our system continue to rise each year, yet more than 11,000 of our neighbors are without housing on any given night. Now is the time to take urgent action to scale what works for our neighbors experiencing homelessness."

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/new-count-shows-homelessness-in-king-county-seattle-down-for-first-time-in-7-years/ar-AAAOCos

[TexasTowelie]

1. I hope that the count went down because the homeless found shelter,

but the cynical side of me wonders wheher the count decreased because people either moved or died.