'The crisis is far from over': Point-in-time Count finds homeless population in Clark County fell 18% over past year

May 19-Clark County's homeless population dropped from 1,530 people to 1,260 over the past year, according to recently released data from Council for the Homeless. Service providers say the nearly 18 percent decrease is evidence of progress, but they caution that homelessness in the community remains far from solved.

"Counting fewer people outside - that is a win all day," said Jamie Spinelli, Vancouver's homeless response manager. "But it's so important not to view that as the end of addressing homelessness."

On Monday, the Vancouver nonprofit Council for the Homeless released its 2026 Point-in-Time Count report, an annual head count conducted on a single day in late January. The organization said the count does not capture the full extent of homelessness in the region.

In addition to showing a drop in the number of homeless people in Clark County from 2025 to 2026, the report also indicates progress in stabilizing vulnerable groups, such as seniors and veterans.

"We are seeing a decrease, and the progress is (from) all the providers and a coordinated effort," said Adam Kravitz, executive director of homeless nonprofit Outsiders Inn. "But the need is still there."

Who's out there?

Despite overall homelessness declining in Clark County this year, the number of struggling families with children continues to grow. More than 170 families with children were counted this year - a 16 percent increase from the previous year.

"Family homelessness has always been referred to as the invisible homelessness, because it's not as visible as what we would normally see on the street," said Scott Kerman, interim executive director of Vancouver nonprofit Share. "The worry has always been that the Point-in-Time Count represents an undercount of families ... and that the number does not really speak to who is truly out there."

The data is collected on the streets, during a resource fair the same day and through collaboration with Clark County school districts. Spinelli said the data doesn't reflect what the city's outreach team is seeing.

"We rarely run into kids outside," Spinelli said.

Homelessness across major demographic categories decreased significantly, according to the data.

Unsheltered homelessness - those living on the street and in vehicles - decreased 11 percent, to 659 people, this year. Although encouraging, this group still makes up more than half of Clark County's overall homeless population, according to the data.

Council for the Homeless also recorded a 46 percent decrease in use of transitional housing due to these beds being converted to permanent housing.

The number of people in emergency shelters decreased 15 percent because fewer winter shelter beds were available in 2026, according to the data.

People of color - who face disproportionate barriers to housing stability, including housing discrimination, higher rates of poverty and language barriers - made up 40 percent of the homeless population in 2026, an increase of 2 percent, the data showed. People of color account for 26 percent of Clark County's overall population.

For the third year in a row, unaccompanied minors held steady with six counted. Domestic violence survivors made up about 10 percent of the total homeless population, with 129 people, according to the data.

Nearly 30 percent of the overall homeless population was considered chronically homeless, that is, homeless for 12 months or longer or multiple times over three years.

Older adults (age 62 and older) decreased by 50 percent this year. Still, service providers said this group remains a priority.

Kravitz said the average age of residents at the city of Vancouver's Safe Stay shelters is around 50. He added that the Safe Stays, of which Outsiders Inn oversees two, regularly welcomes people in their 70s.

"Our seniors are being priced out," Kravitz said.

Sesany Fennie-Jones, Council for the Homeless' chief executive director, said the data is just one way the county tries to record homelessness. But people are missed because they could be working during the head count or temporarily staying indoors during the cold weather.

"It's a single snapshot of a moving target," Fennie-Jones said. "But it can never capture the full scope of what's happening on the ground."

The nonprofit plans to release more comprehensive data on the county's homelessness crisis this summer.

Gaps and solutions

Service providers said a lack of affordable housing and soaring rents are to blame for the rise in homelessness, which the city of Vancouver has declared to be an emergency.

Clark County recorded the highest number of eviction filings per capita in Washington for the third consecutive year in 2025, according to state data.

The fair market rent for a one-bedroom apartment in Clark County is $1,750 per month, according to a 2025 report by the National Low Income Housing Alliance. A Clark County renter would have to earn more than $33 an hour or work 83 hours a week at minimum wage to afford that one-bedroom apartment.

Kerman, of Share, also cautioned that there may be challenges ahead with proposed cuts to local and federal funding and federal food aid and healthcare programs.

"It's important to say, 'Hooray, the data is showing progress.' But I think before we throw a victory parade, we have to be really sensitive to ongoing changes at the federal level and the local level that might erase some of those gains," he said.

Still, service providers say the Point-in-Time Count data is promising.

"The numbers show that our system is working and moving people in the right direction, but the daily pressure on our service providers proves that the crisis is far from over," Fennie-Jones said.

Spinelli said teams are trying to create a more stable pathway from shelter to housing by improving the referral process and focusing on getting people into sustainable housing. This will help free up more shelter beds to get more people off the streets.

Vancouver's 120-bed shelter, referred to as the Bridge Shelter, is expected to open later this year. It will also keep homelessness numbers moving in the right direction, service providers said.

"The Bridge Shelter is going to set so many more people up for stability and success," Kravitz said.

This story was made possible by Community Funded Journalism, a project from The Columbian and the Local Media Foundation. Top donors include the Ed and Dollie Lynch Fund, Patricia, David and Jacob Nierenberg, Connie and Lee Kearney, Steve and Jan Oliva, The Cowlitz Tribal Foundation and the Mason E. Nolan Charitable Fund. The Columbian controls all content. For more information, visit columbian.com/cfj.

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