Homeless count strives for greater accuracy in annual census

EVERETT — Kenny Marshall sat on a bed sheet in the dirt, below an overpass Thursday morning near the Everett waterfront.

He doesn’t usually stay there, he said, but he wanted to get out of the rain. He was surrounded by old tents and tarps. He was alone.

Around 10 a.m., he was greeted by two social workers and two police officers who climbed up the sandy slope to reach him. They wanted to ask him some questions for the annual Point-in-Time Count.

Hundreds of volunteers fan out around Snohomish County each January, to conduct a census of people who are homeless. This year’s count was held Thursday.

The volunteers ask a list of questions, including where people slept the night before, the last time they had housing and if they have any disabilities.

The information is confidential. The goal is to give an idea of homelessness in the county.

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