An annual count of the nation’s homeless population will take place this year on Jan. 26, and service organizations in Clallam and Jefferson counties are looking for volunteers to help.
The survey, known as a Point in Time count, seeks to determine how many people are living in tents, cars, trailers not connected to utilities and other places not meant for habitation.
Olympic Community Action Programs (OlyCAP), which manages the count in Jefferson County, is hosting a training session on Jan. 18, according to Senior Housing Manager Allison Arthur.
“We really appreciate people who have lived experience, who are familiar with people experiencing homelessness,” Arthur said.
The training will take about 90 minutes, Arthur said, and OlyCAP is asking people to register for the training sessions beforehand. Those interested in volunteering can email Arthur at aarthur@olycap.org with the subject line “PIT Count 2023” or call 360-385-2571, ext. 6349.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Arthur said the count had relied more on “magnet events” that tried to draw homeless people to a single location, but this year volunteers will be seeking homeless people in the places they’re living.
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development requires certain service providers to conduct a PIT count at least every other year and the state requires an annual count. Data from past surveys are available from the state Department of Commerce and includes people and households living in transitional housing such as shelters as well as the unsheltered.
According to the 2022 survey, Jefferson County had 130 total homeless people, including at least 11 minors.
In Clallam County, there were 178 people in 136 households that were homeless, including 20 households with minors.
The PIT count in Clallam County is managed by Serenity House, and PIT Count Coordinator Morgan Bartholick said he’s planning an online training session for Jan. 10, most likely at 1:30 p.m.
Last year’s count was disrupted by snowy weather, Bartholick said, and was likely an undercount of the actual population.
Bartholick said the count will inevitably miss some portions of the homeless population, but it’s meant to provide a snapshot of the local homeless situation.
“Even if we don’t have a 100 percent accurate number, it still does show us different things,” Bartholick said. “Over the past few years, the 55-and-over population has started to become a larger portion of the PIT, so the need for senior housing, and affordable senior housing, is clear.”
Serenity House has set up a website at ClallamPitCount.org dedicated solely to the PIT count in Clallam County with additional information about the count and how to get involved.
Those interested in volunteering in Clallam County can email Bartholick at serenity@serenityhouseclallam.org.
Volunteering for the PIT count can be an eye-opening experience, Bartholick said, as it might be a person’s first experience seeing homelessness up close.
“I think there is a stigma around homelessness and the homeless in Clallam County, but at the end of the day, it’s our community members that are unhoused,” Bartholick said. “I’ve seen people that I went to school with and had to sign them up for the count who are now engaged with services. You might see someone you would have never thought would be homeless.
“I think it helps create empathy and understanding and fosters a sense of needing to help.”
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Reporter Peter Segall can be reached at peter.segall@soundpublishing.com.
