Report: WA Homeless Count Down Slightly (For Now)
Get the Flash Player to see this player.
January 15, 2009
Seattle, WA – If there's good news in a new national report that cites fewer homeless people, in Washington State and across the country - it may only be temporary. The National Alliance to End Homelessness warns the economic crisis threatens to swell the ranks of the homeless once again, by more than a million nationwide.
Rachael Myers, executive director of the Washington Low-Income Housing Alliance, says the study found a two-percent drop in statewide homelessness. She's concerned, however, that state budget cuts will derail that progress.
"So, even if it's just a two-percent drop statewide, to us, it shows we were getting something right. We have to keep the investment up to meet the increased needs."
Overall, the research indicates the number of homeless Americans dropped by 10 percent between 2005 and 2007. Meyers points out that two big things have happened in the time since those study years: The economy crashed, and now, state funding to key programs - such as Washington's Housing Trust Fund - are facing a 50-percent budget cut.
While the statewide total of homeless individuals was down slightly, Myers says homelessness actually has increased in some areas, including Spokane County and rural parts of the state. She also expects to see major increases when Washington State performs its own count of the homeless at the end of this month.
"We're hearing anecdotally that there are more people needing help. Of course, we have seen foreclosures going up, so we're expecting an increase in particular in family homelessness."
The study can be viewed online at www.endhomelessness.org.