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Homelessness <br />The primary reasons for homelessness among families are eviction, domestic violence, under- <br />employment/low-income, loss of job, no affordable housing. Data on homelessness is limited, both in <br />quantity and quality. The Washington State Point in Time (PIT) Count of Homeless Persons is the current <br />standard for measuring homelessness. The count is done at a county level in January of each year. The <br />2016 PIT count for Kittitas County was a total of twenty-four homeless persons. Twenty of those were <br />considered to be unsheltered (four were sheltered), eleven included minors in their households, and five <br />were considered to be chronically homeless. Overall, the PIT count shows that homelessness has <br />decreased in Kittitas County, however the PIT county methodology is limited in accuracy and has also <br />been adjusted over time. For example, in 2012, people who were considered to be "couch -surfing" no <br />longer met the definition of homeless, thus were no longer included in the count, resulting in lower <br />numbers. <br />Kittitas County PIT Count Results <br />2006-2016, Total Homeless, Sheltered <br />and Unsheltered <br />137 <br />17 15 27 24 <br />2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 <br />Housing <br />There are an estimated 23,084 housing units in Kittitas County, however only about 518 are considered <br />low-income affordable housing when over 1,000 households below the poverty level are in need of <br />housing. Barriers to rental housing include limited income, credit history, large families, disabilities, <br />citizenship, and unverified income sources. Of the total housing units, 66% are one unit housing units, <br />21% are two or more unit housing units, and 13% are mobile homes or "specials". Nearly a third of all <br />housing units were built before 1970 and many of these are owned or occupied by elderly individuals or <br />low-income families who can't afford repairs and upgrades. Occupied housing units are 42.7% renter <br />occupied. <br />Although Washington State and Kittitas County are fairly similar in mortgage costs as a percentage of <br />income, Kittitas does have a higher percentage of households with a mortgage over 35% of income. <br />13 <br />