Behind Every Number Is a Child: What the 2026 Point-in-Time Count Tells Us About Family Homelessness

"At Mary's Place, the emergency family intake line rings 40 to 50 times every day from parents desperately searching for a safe place for their children to sleep. That is the true measure of need," said Mary's Place CEO Dominique Alex. The recent release of the 2026 Point-in-Time Count helps explain why that phone won't stop ringing. 

The Point-in-Time (PIT) Count is an annual survey of people experiencing homelessness in King County during a single period in January. This year, it found 18,365 people experiencing homelessness. That is a 9% increase from 2024. It is also a slowdown from the 26% increase the county saw between 2022 and 2024, a signal that the investments we have made are working for many people. In 2025 alone, the system housed or helped maintain housing for more than 17,000 households. But even more people – roughly 18,000 – entered or re-entered homelessness in that same period. As long as more people become homeless than leave homelessness, the overall count will keep climbing, no matter how many people the system serves. 

The picture for families is especially concerning 

The count identified 1,370 families experiencing homelessness, including thousands of children. That is roughly flat compared to 2024. But the number that should alarm all of us is that unsheltered family homelessness has grown from 415 households in 2022 to 647 households in 2026.  

More families are sleeping in cars, in parks, and in places not meant for human habitation than at any point in recent memory. Behind that number is a real decline in family shelter capacity, and we want to be honest about why. 

In the past year, Mary's Place lost three shelter sites. Our Bellevue shelter closed when the building's owner needed it back for their own project, and we could not find a replacement. Two smaller congregate sites also closed. Since the pandemic, shared sleeping spaces no longer meet the safety standards we hold for families, and in a constrained funding environment, they were expensive to operate per bed. Our Burien shelter closed for redevelopment; we are building a new co-located shelter and affordable housing campus there with Mercy Housing Northwest, which will open in mid-2027 with 200 beds. 

These closures were not a retreat from our commitment to families. They happened because rebuilding and replacing shelter capacity costs money that is not currently there. Burien's new beds are funded and on the way. The rest of what was lost has not yet been replaced. 

Families are feeling this right now, sleeping in places no child should have to sleep.  

A count is a floor, not a ceiling 

We want to recognize the effort KCRHA and the University of Washington put into this year's count. Their Respondent-Driven Sampling, a peer-referral methodology, is a more rigorous approach than the old one-night street counts, and we believe this year's numbers tell a more complete story about families than any prior year. 

Even so, no single count can capture the full scale of family homelessness. Families who lose their housing tend to hide. They double up with relatives, stay in motels, or sleep in cars, doing everything they can to keep their children safe. That's why the PIT Count should always be read alongside other sources. The Washington State Department of Commerce, combining Medicaid, Economic Services, and HMIS data, estimated 6,652 households with children experienced homelessness in King County at some point during 2024. School districts identified over 9,800 students experiencing homelessness that same year. And at Mary's Place, approximately 2,700 families reached out for our services in each of the last two years. 

The PIT Count is one data point. It is a floor, not a ceiling. 

Why this keeps happening 

Homelessness is not a personal failing. It is the outcome of systemic inequities in housing, economic opportunity, and access to services; inequities that hit hardest in high-cost markets like ours. The Seattle-Bellevue metro area is the most expensive housing market in Washington State, and low-income families are most exposed when rents rise and vacancies disappear. Families don't choose homelessness. They are priced out, often just one crisis away from losing the stability their children depend on. 

What actually works 

Mary's Place believes the path forward rests on three connected strategies – our three-pronged approach: more emergency family shelter and services for those with the most acute barriers to housing, mobile outreach that connects unsheltered families to services and housing quickly, and sustained investment in prevention that stops families from losing their housing in the first place. 

While more shelter is needed, it is not the sole answer to this crisis. The slowing growth rate in this year's count is real evidence that prevention works. Over the past three years, as part of a research partnership with the Lab for Economic Opportunities at the University of Notre Dame, Mary's Place has significantly expanded our investment in prevention, connecting families with emergency rental assistance and early intervention that keeps them housed for a fraction of what shelter costs once a family has lost everything. 

Prevention does something shelter alone cannot: it interrupts the generational cycle. Research shows that children who experience homelessness face a higher risk of experiencing homelessness again as adults. When we stop that cycle before it starts, we change the trajectory not just for one family, but for the next generation. Prevention is also one of our most direct tools for equity. It steps in before a lost job or an eviction notice turns into a lost home, and those root causes fall unevenly on communities of color. That’s reflected in who we serve: 40% of families at Mary's Place identify as Black, and 86% identify as BIPOC. Investing in prevention means addressing that disparity at its source. 

Behind every number is a child 

The trauma of losing your home follows children into their classrooms, their relationships, and their futures. We need more shelter, but what we need most to end this crisis and give children the chance to thrive is sustained investment in preventing homelessness before it happens. 

Shelter and outreach stabilize families in crisis. Prevention stops the flow before a crisis hits. Together, they are how we end family homelessness in King County and make sure no child sleeps outside. 

King County Regional Homelessness Authority (KCRHA) Point In Time Count Initial Report