January 27 is Count Us In, the Point in Time Count of Homelessness in King County

Camp United We Stand
Photo by Kim Lancaster

Early Friday morning, hundreds of volunteers will spread over all of King County to witness and enumerate the scope of homelessness in our community.

Formerly known as the One Night Count, this year, Count Us In will utilize new and improved data collection methods for the full range of count activities.

This will include a street count of people living unsheltered, a count of people living in shelter or transitional housing, a qualitative survey of people experiencing homelessness, and specialized approaches to counting subpopulations, including youth / young adults, families, and those living in vehicles.

Obtaining comprehensive, accurate and actionable data through our annual point-in-time count is imperative to our community’s response to homelessness.

Local advocates, service providers and Applied Survey Research have all been active and valued partners in the planning and implementation of Count Us In.

Changes to this year’s count include the addition of paid guides, who are currently or formerly homeless individuals with lived experience in or near their count area, a shift from “known areas” to a 100% canvass of every census tract in King County and sample-based survey efforts including both shelter / service sites as well as non-service locations.