(The Center Square) – The Bellingham City Council was briefed on the Whatcom County 2023 homeless point-in-time data, revealing that this year had the highest number of people living unsheltered within county limits since counting began in 2008.
This year’s count recorded 1,059 homeless people comprising 850 households. Closer examination into the data also shows a 91% increase in unsheltered persons, from 182 people in 2022 to 348 in 2023. The 1,059 people who were counted is a 27% increase from last year’s count of 832 unhoused people.
Bellingham City Councilmember Hollie Huthman spoke on the data in a city council meeting on Aug. 14. Huthman said she found it troubling to learn that 40% of Whatcom County is at or below the “ALICE” threshold, which stands for asset limited, income constrained, employed. This represents households with income above the federal poverty level but below the basic cost of living. That is 6% higher than the Washington state average of 34%.
One explanation Whatcom County officials suggest for how the homeless issue has worsened is the increasing cost of affordable housing. According to the University of Washington’s estimates, the average cost of rent in Whatcom County have gone from $981 in spring 2020 to $1,489 in spring 2023. That is an increase of over 50% in three years.
The uptick in homeless people in the county has caused local jurisdictions to increase spending to address the issue. Whatcom County has dedicated over $7.2 million in federal American Rescue Plan Act dollars towards affordable housing projects, some of which are not yet online, according to county officials.
The county’s largest city, Bellingham, recently passed its five-year consolidated plan to map out how the city plans to distribute resources related to housing and services from federal and local sources. There are five priorities identified in the plan: affordable housing, services, basic needs, shelter and fair housing support. The plan focuses on priority populations due to a lack of resources to meet the need.
The point-in-time count is a survey of homelessness people on a specific night as defined by the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Whatcom County acknowledges that the headline number is an undercount and that there are likely more homeless people living in the region than documented in the point-in-time count.
