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The number of homeless people in King County, especially those without any shelter, continues to increase, according to data collected during the annual One Night Count.

Perhaps the most surprising increase was on the Eastside, which reached its highest-ever increase after being on a downward trajectory for the last few years.

“We saw huge increases on the Eastside and also on the north end, South County, Vashon Island. Most of the increase we saw across King County was in suburban areas. That’s significant,” All Home Director Mark Putnam told the Reporter.

Volunteers spread thoroughout the county between 2 and 5 a.m. on Jan. 29 to count those without homes for the 2016 One Night Count. That night, 245 unsheltered homeless persons were counted on the Eastside — an increase of 82 percent over last year.

Outside of a 43 percent increase between 2012 and 2013, the numbers of unsheltered homeless people on the Eastside have decreased over the last five years.

Overall, the number of homeless people increased 19 percent over the year county-wide. That is in line with the 21 and 14 percent increases seen during the 2015 and 2014 One Night Counts, respectively.

It’s hard to say precisely what led to the increases seen around suburban King County this year, Putnam said, but it may have been the result of rent increases.

A national study showed when the average apartment monthly rent increases by $100, homelessness increases by 15 percent in urban areas and 39 percent in rural and suburban areas. In King County, the average apartment rent increased by $115 per month in the last year, according to All Home.

This was also the first year that Issaquah participated in the count, joining Bellevue, Kirkland, Redmond, Bothell, Kenmore and Woodinville.

Ending homelessness has been a longterm goal for the county, leading to the creation of a 10-year plan in 2005 that failed to meet many of its goals, including ending homelessness.

When the Committee to End Homelessness in King County — now called All Home — assessed the effect of their 10-year plan in 2011, they reported that the landscape for creating reform was much different from when they had originally compiled the plan in 2005, but they still had high goals.

By 2015, they hoped to reduce the number of homeless persons verified by One Night Count by 98 percent, and reduce the need for human services and shelters.

Fast forward five years, and the county continues to struggle with what they now call a “state of crisis” for homelessness.

King County Executive Dow Constantine issued a proclamation in November 2015 declaring that homelessness had reached a state of emergency.

“Despite the region’s prosperity, homelessness in King County is in a state of crisis,” he stated.

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