VANCOUVER, Wash. — In Clark County, teams of outreach workers are working to document how many people are experiencing homelessness through their annual Point in Time count. It’s a federally required survey that happens in January.
Inside a Vancouver church on Thursday, homeless people came to find hope for a second chance. Project Homeless Connect held its annual event on the same day as the count to connect people in need with services like health benefits, housing resources, pet care and even haircuts.
“We are anticipating that the PIT count will show an increase in the number of people experiencing homelessness,” said Charlene Welch of the Council for the Homeless.
They include Kimberly, who just relocated to Vancouver with her partner.
“We’ve been sleeping in our car,” she said.
“It’s better than Portland, I ain’t going to lie,” added Eddy, whose fight for housing has lasted most of his adult life. “Thirteen, going on 14 years this month … Everything’s wearing down on me."
Outreach workers started counting homeless people early Thursday in Clark County. They'll try to document the number of people sleeping outside, in vehicles, and even in emergency shelters. The Project Homeless Connect event provides a good start, while also helping people get the support that they need all in one place.
“We make today a day of action," said Welch. "We hope today people don’t walk away with a list of appointments for the future and flyers that they have to keep track of. We want today to be a day where you can get answers.”
Ideally, those answers include a path through the barriers blocking many from that second chance.
“Hopes and dreams are not really words you have any more when you’re homeless. It kind of beats that out of you,” said Eddy.
Across the river, Multnomah County won’t be doing a count this year, reporting that the PIT is only required by the federal government every other year. While counts happened in 2022 and 2023, county officials said that this was because the COVID-19 pandemic delayed the 2021 count.
"Returning to the pre-COVID-19 Point in Time Count schedule, Multnomah County joined with Clackamas and Washington counties to conduct a Count in 2023 and will again conduct a Count in 2025," a county spokesperson told KGW.
Multnomah County said it is instead putting more emphasis on the "Built for Zero" initiative, which is supposed to gradually build a by-name database of every person experiencing chronic homelessness in the area.