Title
AN ORDINANCE adopting a ten-year plan to end homelessness in King County, designating the Committee to End Homelessness as the local homeless and housing task force pursuant to state law and the body to coordinate and oversee implementation of the ten-year plan, accepting an initial county action plan in support of the ten-year plan and committing county health, human services and law and justice programs to work with each other and the Committee to End Homelessness to achieve the ten-year plan goals.
Body
BE IT ORDAINED BY THE COUNCIL OF KING COUNTY:
SECTION 1. Findings.
A. Homelessness is recognized as a growing problem in King County and other places in the nation. Our regional one-night count of homeless persons estimates that approximately eight thousand three hundred King County residents experience homelessness on any given night. Estimates suggest that over twenty-four thousand King County residents will experience at least one episode of homelessness during the upcoming year.
B. King County finds it unacceptable that such a high number of our citizens cannot find safe, decent, affordable and non-time-limited housing.
C. Seattle/King county has been relatively successful as a metropolitan area in developing housing and service programs but is still experiencing growth in homelessness while some other areas have shown success in reducing homelessness . A comparison of the one night count between 2001 and 2004 indicates there has been a thirteen percent overall increase in the number of homeless persons living on the streets or in shelters in King County.
D. Further analysis of the one night count information indicates that the current increase in homelessness is primarily related to increases among the subpopulations of people who have been homeless for more than two years and single males. Homelessness has decreased for people who have been homeless less than six months and has not increased among youth and families with chil...

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