SPOKANE COUNTY, Wash. — New numbers show the number of homeless people in Spokane County has decreased in the past year.
The annual "Point in Time" count revealed that just over 2,000 people are unhoused, which is down 15% from nearly 2,400 people counted in 2023.
This decrease is the first "year to year" decrease in eight years.
The survey also showed a big decrease in the number of unsheltered people. That number dropped from 955 last year to 442 people in the most recent count.
Other Point in Time statistics provided by the City of Spokane include the following:
- The overall chronic homeless count was 536 (20 percent decrease);
- 121 total veterans, a decrease from 129 last year;
- 80 percent of those counted this year were 25 years of age or older;
- 49 percent (or 870) of adults reported having a serious mental illness; and
- 9 percent (or 151) of adults reported being a survivor of domestic violence.
The City of Spokane said the closure of Camp Hope is believed to be a factor in this year's overall decrease in the homeless population.
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