Homelessness continues to rise in Seattle and King County according to the annual One Night Count conducted by the Seattle/King County Coalition on Homelessness. The count showed that 4,505 men, women, and children were without shelter during the three hour street count. This number is an increase of 19% over those found without shelter last year. Last year the total count came to 3,772 without shelter.

The count was done in the early hours of Friday, January 29, 2016.

The Coalition mobilized more than 1100 volunteers to count the number of men, women and children who were homeless and sleeping outdoors without shelter between 2:00 and 5:00 a.m.

From urban to suburban areas of Seattle and the county They found and tallied people sleeping in cars and tents, riding all night buses, or trying to stay warm in blankets under bridges or in doorways. That same night, staff at agencies that operate shelters and transitional housing programs recorded select information about the people staying in their programs.

King County Executive Dow Constantine reacted to the count and said, "The One Night Count reveals the scope of the human tragedy of homelessness in our region. The results confirm the state of emergency and underscore the urgent need to work together – at every level of government and with our community partners – to create the housing, treatment, employment and other services that thousands of adults, children and families in King County need right now. We continue to call on our Legislature and Congress to recognize this growing humanitarian crisis and take immediate action."

Staff at the Homeless Housing Program of King County's Community Services Division compile the data.

The total number is always assumed to be an undercount, because it is difficult or impossible to tally every location and because some people are simply unseen.

The count was done in the communities of Auburn, Bellevue, Bothell, Burien, Des Moines, Federal Way, Kent, Kenmore, Kirkland, Redmond, Renton, Seattle, Shoreline, Skyway, Vashon Island, White Center and Woodinville.