Some news has been released about this year’s Point in Time (PIT) Count of homelessness in King County, and it’s up 23% from two years ago. As a result, some people are now calling for an end to the King County Regional Homelessness Authority (KCRHA).
It seems a little early to give up on KCRHA. Okay, so it was supposed to reduce homelessness, not add to it. But, there was that whole COVID-19 pandemic followed by a fentanyl epidemic. Let’s give KCRHA another two years before giving it away and getting a new dog.
Speaking of which, how many dogs have there been? I came on at the outset of the King County Plan to End Planning to End Homelessness (what I’m calling it), and then there was that thing that replaced it, and I think KCRHA was the very next thing. If so, three dogs, unless there were others before 2004.
I don’t know if all the rest of you have ever noticed, but it takes a long time to train a government homelessness dog. I watched the first one being trained and getting ready to lie in place like a champ, but there were many months when I thought it would never be house-trained.
I’ve often been highly critical of the PIT Count. I don’t like the way it changes regularly so the whole idea of maintaining a baseline is mucked up. I don’t like the way it’s hyped as telling how many homeless people we have, when it just tells us how many are sheltered plus the number who couldn’t hide for whatever reason, like they were too high or they couldn’t escape the surveyors in high heels and tight glittery dinner gowns that sparkles when you shine a flashlight on it.
All the same, I really appreciate the PIT Count whenever the numbers jump like this one. Mucked or not, they sure can jump, can’t they? Wow, 23% — all the way to a new unofficial regional record. This year’s crew deserves a trophy.
We’ll have to wait until summer to see more detailed reports about the PIT Count, but a couple of facts we have now are that the number of unsheltered homeless in King County has increased from 57% of the total to 60%, and most of the 23% increase is credited to a large influx of the number of white people experiencing homelessness. I’d like to know how that breaks down suburb by suburb before trying to draw conclusions.
In all the excitement about the escaped zebras, I neglected to mention that the federal government is reintroducing grizzly bears in Washington state, among other places. As someone who has seen black bears while hiking in the Cascades, I’m glad I’m too old for that sort of nonsense now. I’ll be happy to let someone else have that adrenaline rush all to themselves.
When the 1962 Seattle World’s Fair got going around, columnist Dorothy Kilgallen got my father cheesed off forever at her by saying she didn’t want to come here to see it for fear of the bears. I thought her crack was funny, but Dad sputtered at her incredible ignorance. “We’re a city now. We don’t have bears here anymore.” Well, actually, I’ve heard of black bears in Ballard. But I guess Dad wouldn’t have counted cute little black bears as bears.
They say not to worry: The released grizzlies can’t get here from the North Cascades because of too many barriers like highways, rivers and hunters in the way.
I’m with Dr. Ian Malcolm on this. “Life finds a way.” Grizzlies got to eat.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for grizzlies. I want to see them overrun Westlake Mall and Pike Place Market. It would make both places better tourist attractions. They can have the run of the Space Needle, too, for all I care. How they’d work the elevators I don’t know. I’d let them try, though.
It’s been a long time since I’ve enjoyed Seattle wildlife. We used to have raccoons outside our window. The cat would tell us so every other night. In the ’80s and ’90s, I spotted coyotes in the U District regularly. There were reports of one or more cougars hunting cats at Discovery Park.
The coyotes inspired me. I would never have been caught during a PIT Count.
Dr. Wes is the Real Change Circulation Specialist, but, in addition to his skills with a spreadsheet, he writes this weekly column about whatever recent going-ons caught his attention. Dr. Wes has contributed to the paper since 1994. Curious about his process or have a response to one of his columns? Connect with him at [email protected].
Read more of the May 22–28, 2024 issue.