It is estimated that more than 7,800 people are homeless on any given night in King County and 3.5 million experience homelessness each year in the U.S. Crisis Clinic is a leader in helping people find and keep housing. We do this by connecting people who are homeless, or at risk of becoming homeless, with the resources they need to find and keep a roof over their head.

The Seattle/King County Coalition on Homeless (SKCCH) in partnership with Operation Nightwatch, the Committee to End Homelessness in King County and King County Housing and Community Development conducted the annual One Night Count
of Homeless People in King County, Washington on January 26, 2007.   

Click on the link below  to download the 2007 One Night Count Report:

http://www.homelessinfo.org/pdf/ONCBook.pdf

 
For additional resources in King County,  Click Here to download our Housing and Emergency Services Brochures or go to Community Resources Online.

Emergency Shelter

There are 5 types of shelters in King County:
1. Family
2. Single women/men
3. Couples
4. Youth
5. Domestic Violence

Family
A family consists of any household with minor children. An intake interview is required and most begin with a phone screening. Some shelters only take single female head of household families, whereas others will take one or two-parent families, and still others will only take families with four or more members

Most family shelters provide a separate room or apartment unit for the family, whether it is a motel voucher (e.g., Fremont Family Shelter) or a room in a house or old-hotel (e.g., Union Gospel Mission); these units come furnished. The length of stay at most family shelters is anywhere from a couple of weeks to two or three months. Support services are often provided, including, but not limited to: case management, nearby food banks, housing counselors and support groups.

Single Women/Men
These shelters serve single adults, age 18 and over. An intake interview is required and most are done on a daily basis, although there are usually waiting lists of approximately two weeks.

Most of these shelters are dorm style, with separate facilities or rooms for male and female clients (e.g., Compass Center). Length of stay can vary from one-night (e.g., Operation Nightwatch) to 3 months (e.g., Sacred Heart) to an indefinite period of time (e.g., Downtown Emergency Service Center).

Couples
There are no shelters that will house couples, however, Aloha Inn, a transitional housing program, will take couples. For more information on Aloha Inn, go to Community Resources Online and enter Aloha Inn under “agency name”.

If Aloha Inn is not an option, couples can find two single adult shelters near each other in the Pioneer Square neighborhood. Their intake process would be exactly the same as for the single adult shelters.

Youth
Youth shelters are generally for adolescents, age 12-17, although some shelters may go down to age 10 or up to age 20. Youth should call shelter directly to apply, some shelters accept self-referrals, while others require an agency referral. Some shelters are run out of church basements, while others utilize private foster homes or group homes.

According to law (The Becca Bill), many shelters must report that the youth is staying in their shelter. There are separate programs for teen parents and most general youth shelters will not accept teen parents.

Domestic Violence
Domestic violence shelters are for women, with or without children, who are fleeing from an emotionally, physically, or sexually abusive relationship with an intimate partner. Domestic Violence shelters have a strict confidentiality policy regarding their location.

For more information on emergency shelter in King County go to
Community Resources Online and search “shelter” in the topic section,
or call the 2-1-1 Community Information Line.