Homeless count tops last year’s numbers in first hour

SMOKEY POINT — He might not choose to give his name, but he wants people to know that the homeless are not nameless.

SMOKEY POINT — He might not choose to give his name, but he wants people to know that the homeless are not nameless.

The 21-year-old Arlington High School graduate has been living on the street for four years. Although he’s fought with drug addiction, that wasn’t what cost him his home.

“My mom has two other kids she can barely afford to raise, so since I’m an adult, I know she needs to take care of them first,” he said, as he filled out forms at the Smokey Point Community Church Jan. 28, during its first-ever Resource Fair for North County Homeless. “It’s not like I’m going to die.”

Although stoic about his circumstances, he gushed with appreciation for the haircuts, health care, free food and free clothes that were provided to coincide with the annual Point In Time homeless count.

“It’s so rare that something like this happens,” he said of the event, which was coordinated by Housing Hope, Lutheran Community Services and the Arlington Community Resource Center. “God bless them for it. Tomorrow, I’ll go back to holding a sign and having people throw pennies at me, thinking I’m a criminal.”

His last job was as a painter, but when his employers went under, and he had no place to call home, he found how hard it is to get hired without an address.

“When they ask and you say, ‘General Delivery, Arlington,’ they pretty much know you’re homeless,” he said. “Even before that, they can usually tell.”

The most promising prospect he’s had came a week ago, when he was caught sleeping on a boat by its owner. Instead of kicking him out, the man handed him a job application form and conducted an interview on the spot.

“He asked me, ‘Are you reliable? Will you show up on time?'” he said. “I haven’t heard back yet, but here’s hoping.”

He would be grateful just to get out of the weather.

“Not surprisingly, it’s not easy to stay dry in Western Washington,” he said. “Even with a tarp over my tent, I still wake up in puddles. Food, blankets and socks become very valuable.”

It was precisely because of the day’s rain that Seanna Herring-Jensen, program manager for the resource center, was surprised to see 60 volunteers show up. With at least another 100 filtering through during the day, there were plenty of people available to go out looking for homeless encampments, to improve the accuracy of the homeless count.

The event itself helped on that score, since bringing together so many resources for those in need drew more homeless people in the first hour of the day than the 23 who were recorded during the entire homeless count in Arlington last year.

“Not only does this get these services into the hands of those who need them the most, but the increased number of the count makes the case that more services need to be made available in this area,” Herring-Jensen said. “We need more shelters and detox centers.”

Sara Haner, events and marketing manager for Housing Hope, repeated her refrain of praise for North County residents’ commitment to community service.

“Getting these services out there is an intervention that can help break the cycle,” Haner said.

Navy Chief Petty Officer Mike Davis brought 25 sailors from Naval Station Everett to volunteer at the fair.

“In the volunteer training, they instructed us to be flexible and considerate of the homeless people’s circumstances,” Davis said. “Their situation might be different from ours, but deep down, they’re just like everyone else. You need to be considerate and cordial, and approach this work with humility.”

“Just put yourselves in our shoes,” the homeless AHS alum said. “What would you do if you lost your job, or your house burned down? Just treat us the way you’d want to be treated.”