One Night Count In Renton Shows Increase In Homeless

In the early morning hours Friday, hundreds of volunteers scoured Renton in an effort to count every person living without shelter as part of the 33rd annual One Night Count, organized by the Seattle/King County Coalition on Homelessness.

Renton volunteers walked various neighborhoods between 2-5 a.m. and reported back their findings by 5:30 a.m., where they were met with a warm breakfast. Similar counts also took place in Redmond, Woodinville, Bothell,   Seattle, Bellevue, Kirkland, Shoreline, Kenmore, Kent, Federal Way, Auburn, and White Center. 

This year volunteers counted 83 homeless people in Renton, a marked increase over the 73 people counted last year.

Over 8,830 people were known to be homeless in King County on this one night during the 2012 count, according to the coalition. On the Eastside, 138 people without shelter were counted last year in comparison to 197 this year. Many appeared to be living in cars or trucks, the report said.