February 22, 2006

By AUSTIN HASKELL
Contributing Writer

It was raining. Driving through the city, it was hard to imagine that anyone could call these streets their home. Federal Way seems to be a picturesque depiction of the suburban lifestyle: finely kempt roads, gated community developments, side-street landscaping and high-end retail stores and restaurants. The last thing one would suspect this city of harboring is homelessness. That’s probably why it had never before been included in the One Night Count.

The One Night Count, which was first conducted by Reverend Rick Reynolds (Operation Night Watch) in 1996, is an attempt to provide accurate numbers of homeless by going out on the streets and literately counting them over a single night.

Now in its 10th year, the street count found 1,946 people outside in King County.

The count originated in the downtown core of Seattle, but has now grown to include areas all over King County. “It just mushroomed,” explains Reynolds. “It started with 12 volunteers.” This year, nearly 600 people joined in.

For Federal Way, a city of 81,000 just north of Tacoma, this was its first time. “The need [for the count] came when we realized through the city’s Consolidation Housing and Human Services Program that one of the holes we have in our information is how many homeless we have in Federal Way,” says Kelli O’Donnell, lead organizer for the city’s count.

For the volunteers who offered to take part in the count, zero hour came in the early hours of Friday the 17th.

At 2 a.m. the bustling city hall is a surprising contrast to the rest of the otherwise quite city. Inside, volunteers check in and meet up with their previously assigned teams. All over there is a sense of urgency.

Our team, which was composed of a total of four, is led by Logan MacGregor, a volunteer who was a veteran of some of the Seattle counts. He shows a map of Federal Way that had been sectioned off into 20 areas, each one assigned to a specific team. We were team five, and we would be covering a fairly small section which included a Park & Ride and a hospital.

“ I made a couple dry runs to make sure I know the area” McGregor says. “I think [the Park & Ride] is where we’ll be finding most people.”

A few minutes later we cram into his car and make our way to the zone we’re assigned. “That could have been me out there,” team member Clarelia Threadgill says, explaining why she decided to donate her time. “You could have been counting me out there tonight.”

We arrive at an almost deserted parking lot and begin to walk, closely studying the few surrounding vehicles. MacGregor shows us what to look for, such as steamed-up windows and reclined seats. Dry spots under the cars is a good indication as well. “Looks like the rain is actually going to help us a little” he says with some humor.

Under these rules, we leave the Park & Ride with our “score chart” reading four. Our next stops, to a storage garage and the parking lot behind the St. Francis hospital, bring no results.

MacGregor explains a major problem with the count is that it doesn’t include the large forested areas: places where many of Federal Way’s homeless are believed to sleep. “They’re out on the streets during the day, but at night they just disappear.”

At a commercial trucking facility we find another car camper who’s reclined in a compact two-door, bringing our total up to six. “ I can’t even imagine having to live like that,” fellow team member Chuck Hone, a retired health claims worker says.

By now, we’ve been out for nearly an hour, and a few minutes later we finish our section and return to City Hall.

After all reports were brought in, 12 teams made up of about 60 volunteers counted a total of 62 people in various parts of the city, though most were in vehicles. While this number is not as high as a city like Seattle’s, it is relatively high for a suburban city of 81,000. And Federal Way does not have any programs or agencies geared specifically toward the homeless.

“ Just in general, the concentration of services in downtown Seattle makes it easier to get some of the core services.” MacGregor says. “This makes it very hard for the homeless [in Federal Way].”