EVERETT, Wash. — Jim Dean and Rich Menzel walked the streets, alleyways and parking lots of Snohomish County Tuesday as part of the annual Point In Time count, which gives an estimate of the number of people living outdoors.
"It's the right thing to do to get a sense of where our community is," said Dean.
They found people like Susan, a 63-year-old domestic violence survivor with multiple health issues.
"Her story brings me to tears," said Rich. "This should not happen in America."
Last year's Point In Time count found nearly 1,200 unhoused people in Snohomish County. That's an 8.5% increase from the year before and the highest since 2012.
Data from the count is used to determine which parts of Washington communities get funding to fight homelessness and how much.
Susan Chriest is a supervisor for Snohomish County's Department of Human Services. She said there many reasons the homeless count is expected to rise once again.
"The fentanyl crisis hasn't gotten any better. We've had a lot of people impacted by the pandemic, a lot of people who faced evictions, got behind in their rent. A lot of the COVID money has stopped. So, a lot of people are facing a lot of hardship," Chriest said.
But work is being done to address the problem.
Construction is under way on a new 72,000-square-foot facility that offers a comprehensive range of intensive behavioral health services. It will make 32 beds available in Everett for crisis and intensive behavioral health needs. It's expected to treat 1,500 people per year. That project is the second phase of a Compass Health plan, which also added 82 supportive housing units right next door.
Snohomish County recently used pandemic funding to purchase two motels that will act as transitional housing. And a program is underway that connects people on the street with navigators who help them connect with services.
For Jim and Rich, they just want to make sure that for at least one day the homeless people of Snohomish County will be seen.
"I mean, the best thing anybody can do for someone who is homeless right now is recognize they're there," Jim Dean said. "Say hello. Look them in the eye. Let them know they're human."