Results from Spokane’s most recent homeless count show progress overall, except for the one area the city is focused on: homeless veterans. The city has about 1,000 homeless individuals – that’s a ten percent decrease from one year ago.
Monday, city representatives released the point-in-time count data taken in January. Spokane’s director of Community, Housing, and Human Services, Sheila Morley, explains the decreases have been the result of investments.
Morley: “The decrease in family homelessness really comes from our investment in coordinated assessment, rapid re-housing which gets families quickly into their own units, and really a retooling of that family homeless system.”
Family homelessness was down, but veteran homelessness went up by 19 percent. There were 101 homeless veterans identified in the count. Morley, and Spokane mayor David Condon, say the city is still committed to ending veteran homelessness by the end of 2015.
Condon: “If you know any individual or household who has served in the armed forces and is homeless or at risk of becoming homeless, please call us. The number is 828-2449."
Condon says they’ve received about eight-million dollars in federal funding, aimed specifically at housing vets.
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