Just after midnight on Friday, January 25, volunteers were crowded around the entrance to the Compass Center in Pioneer Square—where Compass Housing Alliance’s mail, banking, and hygiene centers operate.
They were preparing to volunteer for King County’s annual homelessness point-in-time count. Inside, All Home and Compass Housing staff put the final touches on the volunteer check-in stations. Once volunteers entered the building, team captains went to get their info packets and gathered their teammates. Within minutes, the lobby area of the Compass Center was packed full of tired, but excited volunteers. By 2am, most teams were ready to head outside to their assigned locations and start their count.
Each year, All Home and local service providers organize volunteers to go out into King County to gather data on the people in our community experiencing homelessness. The count was held as far north as Shoreline and as far south as Federal Way. Volunteers walked or drove as a group in their assigned area and counted anyone who appeared to be living outside. Once each group had traversed their area, they came back to the Compass Center for snacks and to turn in their tally sheets.
Volunteers began to return around
Read more news articles about Count Us In:
- The Seattle Times
- KUOW
- KIRO 7
- All Home: You can read past reports by clicking ‘reports’ at the bottom of the page.