Homeless shelters in county see increase in
need
A tighter rental market may be causing the pressure, despite an improving economy
The Herald - Everett, Wash. - www.HeraldNet.com
Published: Tuesday, August 23, 2005
By Sharon Salyer
Herald Writer
EVERETT - The number of people in Snohomish County calling
a social service hotline for help with homelessness has
spiked in recent months, hitting nearly 10 percent of all
calls in July.
This trend, coupled with last year's record high in the
number of people turned away from area shelters because of a
lack of space, signals that homelessness is again on the
rise, local social services agencies say.
The increase in demand for emergency shelter comes despite an
improving economy.
"I speculate some of what we're seeing is because the
rental market is tighter and it's harder to find places"
to live, said Ed Petersen, executive director of Housing
Hope, where waiting lists for help are growing longer.
The local apartment vacancy rate has shrunk to 6.3 percent
this year, down from 8.5 percent last year, according to the
most recent figures from Seattle-based Dupre and Scott
Apartment Advisors, Inc.
"The irony is 80 percent of the community benefits by a
thriving economy, and 20 percent is worse off, those on fixed
or low incomes," Petersen said.
The Community Information Line, run by the Volunteers of
America, links callers to social service help. Calls for help
with emergency shelter have "started going through the
roof," said Bill Brackin, program director.
"We were getting about 80 calls a month a year
ago," he said. "We're now getting almost 150 calls
a month."
In July 2002, calls seeking help with emergency shelter were
about 4 percent of total volume, Brackin said. This July, it
was nearly 10 percent of the 1,500 total calls, he said.
The increased number of calls for help this year are coming
during spring and early summer, what typically is a slower
time for homelessness. October through January are usually
the busiest months, he said.
Calls for help with rent and mortgage assistance are
increasing, too, but not as fast as those seeking emergency
shelter, he said.
The spike follows last year's record high in the number of
people turned away from area shelters because of a lack of
space: 20,597.
During April, May and June this year, turnaways at local
shelters increased 46 percent over last year, according to
Carolyn Spector, homeless services coordinator for the
county's Human Services department.
Since homeless individuals or families often call several
organizations seeking emergency shelter, there is some
duplication in these numbers, as each call for help is
counted as a "turnaway" if shelters are full.
For this reason, the counts are more of a "gross trend
line rather than a precise measure" of homelessness,
said Dana Libby, who with his wife, Mary Libby, lead the
Salvation Army in Everett.
"We know there's a huge problem, it's a matter of how
huge it is," Dana Libby said.
Nevertheless, last year's numbers were up sharply from 2003,
when 15,882 people were turned way from shelters because of a
lack of space, Spector said.
Petersen, of Housing Hope, said he found the year-over-year
increase in turnaway numbers surprising. "I didn't think
the spike would be that great," he said.
The Interfaith Association of Snohomish County, Housing Hope
and the Everett Gospel Mission all reported increases in
requests for emergency shelter this year.
Turnaways in April from the same month a year ago increased
to 217 households from 148 households, said Barbara
Erlendson, office manager for the Interfaith Association,
which runs a shelter in Everett for homeless families.
The numbers in May and June were up over the previous year,
too, she said.
Housing Hope's waiting list for transitional housing, a place
to live after families leave emergency shelters, grew from
200 families in April, May and June last year, to between 250
and 300 now, Petersen said.
The numbers have risen even though people are taken off the
list more quickly this year than last year, he said.
The number of men and women turned away this year at Everett
Gospel Mission's two shelters increased over last year, said
Sylvia Anderson, executive director.
In April, the number of women turned away, 171, was nearly
double last year's numbers, she said.
Overall, the number of women and men turned away in April,
May and June increased to 522 this year from 417 last year,
she said.
"These numbers don't show that we've hit the peak,"
Anderson said.
The number of people seeking emergency shelter will continue
to escalate, she predicted, "probably beyond what we saw
last year."