HOMELESS DEMOGRAPHICS

Concerning the homeless population, there are trends and commonalities that emerge, helping to illustrate who actually composes this group of people and what their situations might entail.  While many researchers attempt to make conclusions about the homeless population, one must note that it is difficult to gather concrete data on this population for several reasons; homeless people do not typically have a permanent place of residence to use for tracking purposes, homeless people essentially drift throughout the city making it difficult to know if everyone has been accounted for or not, actual geographic boundaries are hard to define, and furthermore, the definition of homeless tends to be flexible depending on who is doing the research.  Because of these reasons, among others, different resources provide different statistics pertaining to the homeless population.  Nonetheless, here is some of the most recent data illustrating groupings of facts about homeless people from two major sources; the Committee to End Homelessness in King County, and the National Coalition for the Homeless.

Committee to End Homelessness in King County

Taken from the Committee to End Homelessness in King County website, the following are results compiled from a survey of existing programs, thus not being a complete description but a description of those people currently being served.  The Committee to End Homelessness asserts that little demographic information is available on the unsheltered homeless population, mentioned previously as a difficulty of such a study.  Their most recent efforts involved a One Night Count in 2003 that documented homeless people.

Here are some of the results from their 2003 study.

Overall, there are an estimated 8,000 homeless people in King County on any given night.  During the count, 4,617 people were found utilizing services, while in parts of Seattle, Kent and North King County, 1,899 were found surviving without shelter.  In addition to the latter number, there are an estimated 1,500 people living without shelter in the remainder of King County.  From these numbers, the following demographics were ascertained.

People of color are significantly over-represented in the homeless population. They comprise about 20% of the general population in King County, but they comprise 61% of homeless people.

34% of those surveyed had no income, and 64% had very low incomes (30% of AMI-Area Median Income).

In the King County area outside of Seattle, 74% of homeless women have children living with them.

Children under the age of 17 make up 47% (489 children) of the homeless population residing in shelters and transitional housing in the County outside of Seattle, with the majority (374) being less than 12 years old.

In the survey of Seattle shelters and transitional housing, 46% of the total were single men (1676 men) followed by 23% of the total being adult women with children (819 people).

The Veterans Administration Regional Office in Seattle estimates that there are approximately 2,000 homeless veterans in King County, with the majority in the downtown Seattle area.

The 2003 One Night Count survey recorded 508 immigrants, refugees, or people newly arrived to this country who was utilizing homeless services. Large families, many of whom are immigrants/refugees, have a particularly hard time finding affordable housing.

Furthermore, of the 4,617 people utilizing services on the night of the survey, the following characteristics were documented.

Characteristics

Individuals

Percentage

2-Parent Family with Children

658

14%

Couples without Children

22

0%

Adult Women with Children

1328

29%

Teen Women with Children

22

0%

Men with Children

79

2%

Single Women

610

13%

Single Men

1822

40%

Minor Alone (youth)

70

2%

The King County Crisis Clinic's Community Information Line reports that in 2003, they had 14,963 calls from individuals identifying themselves as homeless. Of the 6,844 callers who provided geographical information, 1799 were from South King County, 168 from North King County, 338 from East King County and 4539 from Seattle.

The State of Washington's Emergency Shelter Assistance Program found that 97,964 individuals were turned away from shelters during the period from July 2002 through June 2003. During this same time, 21,551 families with children were turned away from shelter. (Note: Since identifying information is not reported, it is not clear how many of the individuals and families turned away from shelters had called more than one shelter.)

Public Health Seattle-King County estimates that there are approximately 4,900 persons in King County who meet the HUD definition of chronic homelessness: single adults with a disabling condition who have been continually homeless for a year or more, or have had 4 or more episodes of homelessness in the past three years.

The Committee to End Homelessness in King County © 2004
720 Second Avenue, Seattle, WA 98104

[email-masked]

The National Coalition for the Homeless

Taken from the National Coalition for the Homeless website, the following are statistics about the homeless population in Seattle.  Their data illustrates the situation in a slightly different way than the Committee to End Homelessness in King County, emphasizing the minimum standards of housing in the area.  Keep in mind that the area studied is not specified, and specifications are not made regarding definitions used.  (Upon contacting this organization, it was discovered that the date and method of this study are unknown).

There is an estimated 4,400 people who are homeless on any given day.  The number of emergency shelter beds available is only 2,579.  Of those that are homeless, here are some of the main characteristics they exhibit.

Characteristic

Percentage

Children (age 0-17)

26%

Mentally Ill or Dually Diagnosed

8%

Addiction Disorders (alcohol/drug)

16%

Employed

29%

The following statistics further illustrate the financial aspect that incapacitates the homeless population.

Monthly Rents

$440 (efficiency); $535 (1BR apt); $678 (2BR apt)

Median Renter Income

$29,000

Percent Unable to Afford a 1BR Apt

37%

Minimum Wage Needed to Afford a 1BR Apt

$10.29/hour

The National Coalition for the Homeless also found that the waiting list for public housing is 13,000 people long and a 2-year wait for families.  The waiting list for Section 8 housing is 5 years.

The National Coalition for the Homeless © 2004

1012 Fourteenth Street, NW, #600, Washington, DC 20005-3471

[email-masked]