Thurston County ranks 5th nationwide in homeless data collection

Nonprofit Community Solutions announced in a case study on Friday that Thurston County became the fifth community nationwide to collect quality data on all single adults experiencing homelessness.

The case study mentioned that the county’s quality data contains real-time and by-name comprehensive data sources for all unhoused single adults, including veterans and people experiencing chronic homelessness.

The case study is associated with the nonprofit’s Built for Zero initiative, which contains a methodology to measure solved homelessness in a population.

"This milestone brings us one step closer to solving homelessness in our community," said Keylee Marineau, Thurston County's Office of Housing & Homelessness Prevention Homeless Response Program Manager in a PR Newswire article.

"Our team will continue to strive towards addressing racial disparities and centering the invaluable contributions of people who have experienced homelessness in our response efforts," added Marineau.

Built for Zero versus Point-in-Time count

To map out homelessness, cities usually rely on the annual Point-in-Time Count, which the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) mandates. However, this method only collects the general number of unhoused people.

Community Solutions’ Built for Zero relies on comprehensive by-name data, which aids communities in understanding homelessness dynamics at a population level.

“Historically, communities have relied heavily on point-in-time counts to understand whether the problem of homelessness is improving. They’ve used this number to develop local strategies and make budget decisions. But the count is just that — an estimate from a moment in time. There are no names behind it. No way to know what that number is today,” the Community Solutions page stated.

Thurston County’s quality data

Community Solutions has a scorecard measuring qualitative and quantitative data to determine whether communities have covered their complete jurisdiction and whether all homeless service providers are coordinating their efforts.

The scorecard assesses community participation and coverage, policies and procedures, and data infrastructure. The nonprofit's site has the single adults by-name list scorecard rubric, which can be browsed.

“Quality data has clarified the work…We now have the ability to measure progress in a meaningful way,” former Thurston County Public Health and Social Services Homeless Program Specialist Jess Olson noted, according to the case study.

To achieve the quality data standard, Thurston County successfully achieved that at least 90% of unsheltered individuals were known to the homeless response system.

The county accomplished this by initiating the Greater Regional Outreach Workers League (GROWL), which convenes 18 outreach partners, including traditional outreach teams, street medicine, the Department of Health, and anti-human trafficking organizations.

GROWL’s bi-weekly meetings tackle new encampments and probable spots where unhoused people reside. 

“One historical strength of our community is the dedication of direct services workers in prioritizing those most vulnerable for the placement of resources and especially permanent supportive housing,” Olson added, as stated in the case study.