Living Well in Wahkiakum County

Wahkiakum Health and Human Services is gearing up for the annual Point in Time Count on January 29th, 2015. What is the Point in Time Count? Its one day in January every year that every county in the State of Washington counts the homeless within their county. Homelessness is everywhere and Wahkiakum County is not exempt. A recognition of the instability of an individual’s living arrangements is critical in defining the term homeless. There is more than one official definition of homelessness. Health centers funded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) use the following:

A homeless individual is defined as:

• an individual who lacks housing (without regard to whether the individual is a member of a family),

• an individual whose primary residence during the night is a supervised public or private facility (e.g., shelters) that provides temporary living accommodations, and an individual who is a resident in transitional housing.” A homeless person is an individual without permanent housing who may live on the streets; stay in a shelter, mission, single room occupancy facilities, abandoned building or vehicle; or in any other unstable or non-permanent situation.

• An individual may be considered to be homeless if that person is “doubled up or couch surfing,” a term that refers to a situation where individuals are unable to maintain their housing situation and are forced to stay with a series of friends and/or extended family members.

• In addition, previously homeless individuals who are to be released from a prison or a hospital may be considered homeless if they do not have a stable housing situation to which they can return.

If you know of someone that meets this description, let them know there are a number of resources that can help them. January 29 between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m., there will be two locations offering information, services, enrollments, assistance and giveaways.

Locations are Johnson House at 80 Division St, Cathlamet or Johnson Park at 30 Rosburg School Rd, Rosburg. By participating in the Point in Time Count we can have a better picture of the needs of our county and this can help to steer a number of different programs such as housing and grant funds.

So please spread the word and let those in need know about this upcoming event. Watch for flyers and posters. For question or information contact Terrie Howell at Wahkiakum Health and Human Services 360-795-8630.