Snohomish County needs help with their annual homeless count and you can volunteer:
Snohomish County Executive Aaron Reardon, the county’s Homeless Policy Task Force and other staff will participate Thursday, Jan. 29, in the annual Point in Time homeless
This annual count is an important tool in the community’s efforts to assess the number of homeless in Snohomish County as well as to determine ways of ending homelessness. Human service providers and community volunteers will join together in this effort to respectfully count the number of families and individuals who are homeless in our community. The results of the count help to ensure that vital federal and state funding continues to come into the community to fight homelessness.
Data from the annual count also is used to understand how widespread homelessness is in Snohomish County and who is most affected.
“We have pledged to end homelessness in Snohomish County and the Point in Time count allows us to identify the scale of local homelessness, to measure our progress and to put a face to the issue,” Reardon said.
Since last January, Reardon has led the county’s Housing & Homelessness Policy Oversight Committee, which has been charged with establishing benchmarks for homeless and housing initiatives as well as guiding long-term strategies.
Volunteers are needed for each part of the county between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. Volunteers are asked to commit to a three-hour period. All training and materials are provided.
Emphasis on the Point in Time count began in 2006, with the county’s approval of the “Everyone At Home Now” report, a strategy for ending homelessness here by 2016. The plan calls for the expansion of affordable housing and homeless prevention services as well as for the development of programs geared toward specific groups.
During the 2008 count, more than 2,100 individuals were estimated to be homeless, not including 245 incarcerated individuals with no identified residence upon release.
Additionally, an estimated 625 homeless individuals were children under the age of 18. More information about the PIT Count is available by contacting Nate Marti at 425-388-3268 or nate.marti@co.snohomish.wa.us.
To volunteer in the south county area, call or email Mary Anne Dillon at (425) 258-2766; mdillon@ywcaworks.org.
[image courtesy Franco Folini]
I’m a contract RN for Washington state, and want to help any way I can.
Im from Arlington.
I understand that people are needed to provide brown bag lunches, to give out coats, socks and other articles of clothing, but what about basic nursing assessments and recommendations? What about hand sanitizers, toothbrushes and paste?
And yes, even the distribution of Narcan?
Is it legally feasible (certainly ’tis moral), to evaluate and treat, via protocols set forth, contractible skin problems such as scabies, lice and athletes foot?
I understand the above ideas and suggestions likely go beyond the scope of a volunteers boundaries! but I’m inquiring all the same.
The gift of altruism in this organization and others like it, offer communties and surrounding areas a continued hope. Humankind is kind.
Hi Christine — this was a story from 2010. They do this count every year though.