SPOKANE, Wash. – Groups of volunteers will be canvassing the streets of Spokane County this week as part of the Point in Time Count, which seeks to provide an accurate snapshot of the number of homeless people throughout the region.
A yearly count of unhoused people is required by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, and the data collected by volunteers is used by policy makers to determine the amount of homelessness funding and what resources are needed to continue to address the issue in Spokane and the surrounding areas.
The 2024 edition of the Point in Time Count marks the first under new Spokane Mayor Lisa Brown’s administration, and comes after the number of homeless people in Spokane County has steadily increased over the last several years.
More than 200 volunteers have signed up this year. They’re not just seeking to count the number of people living on the streets, but hoping to find out what contributed to them becoming homeless in the first place and what they think can improve the region’s homelessness response in the future.
The focus is on collecting data and information first and foremost, but with the massive outreach effort comes a ton of human connection.
One of the people interviewed by volunteers on Tuesday afternoon in Downtown Spokane was Marshall, who didn’t want to give his last name.
“I’m out here every day,” he said. “I carry my food, love and shelter with me everywhere I go.”
Marshall said he’s been homeless for about three years, and didn’t hesitate to participate in the survey: “I know one voice does make a difference.”
So does having volunteers out on the streets, Marshall added, meeting homeless people where they are.
“Whether they’re helping, or touching base or talking about anything, you can actually tell and feel that they–or we–have been through it, and can actually not just understand and appreciate it, but you can have our sympathy and our empathy,” Marshall said.
One of the Point in Time Count volunteers was Washington State University nursing student Jamie Simonsen.
“I think talking to people as if you’ve known them, and going up to them and approaching them [that way] rather than interrogating them right away is really important,” Simonsen said.
Simonsen is getting ready to graduate, and said her experience as a volunteer was enlightening.
“I think a lot of them were really vulnerable questions, so I admire those who are willing to take the time to answer them,” Simonsen said. “A lot of them are really personal, and questions that I personally wouldn’t want to be asked.”
Adam Schooley, a program manager with the City of Spokane’s Homeless Housing Intervention team and one of the people overseeing this year’s Point in Time Count, said it’s those specific questions that help them the most–especially as the number of unhoused people in Spokane and surrounding areas continues to increase.
“That means that there are more opinions, more comments that we need to get from those people in order to make sure that we can make the system shaped to their needs, and the things that will help them maintain housing and seek self sufficiency,” Schooley said.
People like Marshall, though, are left hoping that the work done this week will eventually translate to results.
“How many times does it take for the community to ask and answer the same questions, before we–the community–can get it together better?” Marshall said.
City officials say the results of this year’s Point in Time Count will be released to the public in April or May, once the data is finalized.
For more information about the Point in Time Count, visit the City of Spokane’s website by clicking here.
