Numbers from the “Point in Time Count” that took place in January show that at least 200 people in the Aberdeen/Hoquiam area were without a stable place to stay or were living in shelters when the count was taken, although county government officials believe the real number is higher.
The count is held annually and acts as a tool to determine how many people are homeless or have limited housing options. This year’s event, in January, was held at the Aberdeen Eagles and offered a number of services for the homeless — free haircuts, for instance. Those who attended had the option of providing information regarding their living status and that was then tabulated by the county and the state.
Between the count and information from homeless shelters in both Aberdeen and Hoquiam it was determined that 214 people have marginal housing options or simply no place to go. Of the 214, 47 were listed as unsheltered, meaning they are either living on the streets or without a roof over their head, 105 were in shelters and 62 were living temporarily with family or friends. Two were listed as being in a hospital or detox facility.
The numbers are mainly representative of the homeless population in Aberdeen and Hoquiam, as the shelters listed in the count, Union Gospel Mission, Union Gospel Mission Friendship House, Catholic Community Services Youth Shelter and Coastal Community Action Program D Street Shelter, are all local.
However, 47 people were listed as staying at a facility in Elma known as Set Free.
Grays Harbor County is mandated by the state to compile the numbers each year, but because of its relatively short geographic reach, it’s not a complete picture of the problem. It is also hard to come up with an accurate number because the “point in time count” only takes place on one day, and not everyone attends.
“This is just a moment in time. It is a narrow collection,” said Grays Harbor Social Services and Mental Health Program Manager Vera Kalkwarf. “It’s very broad and it’s very complex. You can’t get it all in a day.”
Cassie Lentz, Housing Resource Coordinator with Grays Harbor County Public Health and Social Services, said the Aberdeen School District’s Homeless Youth Liaison told her that roughly eight percent of students in the school district were considered homeless or at risk, staying at different places each night, known as couch surfing.
“That’s almost three times the state average of three percent,” said Lentz. “I think that’s definitely underrepresented (in the count’s numbers).”
2014’s official count, not including those living with family or friends temporarily or in a hospital or detox facility, added up to 152. That is ten less than last year’s count, and 82 less than the 234 total that was produced in 2006.
However, County Public Health and Social Services Director Joan Brewster said it’s hard to determine changes in the problem of homelessness based on the numbers. She said, for example, that having a higher number one year might just mean the count’s methodology was executed more efficiently or there were more voluntary participants.
Information on the age and sex of the people surveyed through the count will not be known until the state releases information on the population’s demographic in May or June, said Lentz.
Gary Rowell, Executive Director of Union Gospel Mission of Grays Harbor, estimated that 70 percent of the people who came to the shelter are native to the area, dispelling the myth that many of the county’s homeless are sent here from other areas around the state.
Coastal Community Action Program Case Manager Andrea Vekich said there were some homeless individuals in Aberdeen/Hoquiam who aren’t originally from the area and said the presence of Stafford Creek Corrections Facility plays a role in why marginally housed transplants can be found on the Harbor.
“The Department of Corrections … turns them loose at the sight of their first felony. They have no connection to this area, whatsoever. They have no social capital, friends or family,” she said.
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