MyEverettNews.com

This in from Everett Fire regarding the rescue of a rower who fell out of his boat in the Snohomish River this morning.

Photo provided by Everett Fire.

The victim, an 80yo male who is an experienced rower, called 911 stating his rowing shell had capsized. The subject, who stated he was not injured but was cold, floated down the river for a few minutes until he made it to a wood pylon near the shore, where he waited to be rescued.

Everett Fire launched their drone to assist with aerial coverage for the search and rescue on the river, while Everett Fire’s Marine Team launched their Inmar boat to rescue the victim. The victim, who had been in the water for approximately 30 minutes, was safely moved into the fire boat and brought to shore for medical evaluation.

Medic 5 and Aid 2 transported the patient to Providence Regional Medical Center, where he was treated for hypothermia. He has since been released from the hospital.

Firefighters were able to secure the rowing shell.

Everett Police also responded and assisted on the scene.

This incident is a good reminder to the community to wear their life jackets when on the water.

In 2021, Everett Fire received a grant of $47,393.00 from the Tulalip Tribes Charitable Contributions Fund that allowed us to purchase two drones to be used in emergency operations. This resource has proven to be a valuable tool for aerial operations on incidents such as this call. Everett Fire would like to again thank the Tulalip Tribes for their generosity with this grant.

Today Snohomish County issued the latest edition of their annual Point In Time Count that tries to get a snapshot of those living unsheltered in Everett and Snohomish County. The Pandemic has limited collection somewhat but the numbers put together show another uptick in the number of people experiencing homelessness. Here’s a press release out today with the numbers they have.

Snohomish County’s Annual Homeless Point-in-Time (PIT) count, designed to provide a snapshot of households experiencing homelessness on a single night, was conducted on February 22, 2022. While PIT counts traditionally occur in January, this change from previous counts was the result of a COVID-19 related extension granted by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. This survey was supported by the efforts of 204 volunteers, county personnel, and partnering agency staff. The unsheltered PIT count was not conducted in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The 2022 count identified 1,184 people in 953 households residing in shelter, transitional housing, or living without shelter in Snohomish County the night of February 21, 2022, the highest number since 2012.

“There are far too many members of our community who have no home and are traumatized daily by their lack of shelter,” said Director of Snohomish County Human Services Mary Jane Brell Vujovic. “This count allows us to quantify this community challenge and give us a better perspective on what is taking place across the county. We are committed to doing all we can to relieve suffering and help our neighbors transition to a more stable and sustainable life.”

The PIT count is required by state and federal funders and is used in program planning.  It includes people residing in emergency shelter, transitional housing, and living without shelter. Because the unsheltered count relies on volunteer survey takers who visit encampments, food banks, community resource locations, and known areas where people who are unsheltered congregate, the previous methodology was prone to undercounting families experiencing homelessness.  Snohomish County’s continued commitment to increase the usability and accuracy of the PIT count data led to a change in methodology for locating homeless households in 2019 and included a new strategy to locate households experiencing homelessness. 

Snohomish County continues to mitigate limitations by using the extensive data in the Coordinated Entry system to locate and actively reach out to obtain surveys from households that have been historically undercounted. Additionally, due to an expected decrease in volunteers this year due to the pandemic, the count utilized partnerships in the community with Law Enforcement Embedded Social Workers, First Responders, Tribal Service Providers, Social Services Agencies and Human Services employees.

As with the last unsheltered count conducted in 2020, a service-based count was conducted in the six days following the initial count. The service-based count gave service providers an opportunity to survey individuals they contacted after the count about their situation on the night of February 21. Navigators in the Coordinated Entry system also contacted the households with whom they work to conduct surveys. Surveys were de-duplicated by the HMIS Data and Program Analyst team.

The Data Behind the PIT Count

Despite increased efficiencies and investments across the system which continue to assist more households each year, the total PIT count—including individuals residing in shelter, transitional housing, and living without shelter—is the highest it has been since 2012. From its low point in 2015, when 829 people were identified, the PIT count increased 42.8% to 1,184 in 2022 and represents an increase of 52 individuals from 2020 when the last complete count was conducted. Within that overall count, the number of people living unsheltered decreased by 13.2% from 673 in 2020 to 584 in the 2022 count.

Conversely, the sheltered count (600) is a reflection of system capacity and is the highest it has been since 2013. This increase of 30.7% over the number in 2020 (459) is due to an increase in shelter capacity including cold weather shelters which were open the night of the count.

The count varied in important ways from previous years. The number of households with children experiencing homelessness (92) did not change from the last full count in 2020, but the number of households experiencing sheltered homelessness increased 52.4% (168 to 256) while unsheltered households with children decreased 73.3% (116 to 31). There was also a decrease in the number of households with children experiencing chronic homelessness from 2020 (37) to 2022 (29). Households with only children also decreased by 50% (30 to 15). The total number of households without children experiencing unsheltered homelessness changed very little from 2020 to 2022, but there was an increase in households without children experiencing chronic homelessness (448 to 499). This means that more than 50% of all households without children experiencing homelessness in Snohomish County are chronically homeless.

Of note, there was a decrease in the number of people whose race is Black, African American, or African from 11.2% in 2020 to 6.4% in 2022. In contrast, the number of people who are Hispanic/Latin(a)(o)(x) showed a slight increased from 10.6% to 11.23%. The number of households with a veteran increased from 41 to 46. The percentage of people having a gender of female or male remained relatively unchanged, but there was a slight increase in the number of people who are transgender, questioning, or who have a gender that is not singularly female or male (e.g., non-binary, genderfluid, agender, culturally specific gender) from .97% to 1.44%.

While an imperfect measure, the PIT count is one of the tools used to inform priorities for federal, state, and local funding. It also helps identify trends and craft solutions for the needs of vulnerable individuals and families. The analysis and overall trend data are utilized by the Snohomish County Partnership to End Homelessness as one of many tools to track progress toward goals to prevent, reduce, and end homelessness. Additional historical Snohomish County PIT information can be explored at https://snohomishcountywa.gov/2857/Point-In-Time.

The Primary Election is set for August 2nd and General Election is November 8th.

On Monday those words turn into actions as the official candidate filing period opens.

There are no specific City of Everett races on the ballot this year but there are some other offices that have a direct influence on Everett including State Senator and two House Representative positions in the 38th District as well as Snohomish PUD District 1, some Judicial positions and of course U.S. Congress and U.S. Senator. You can click here for a list of all offices expected on the ballot in Snohomish County.If you are interested in filing here’s more information from the Snohomish County Auditor’s Office.

– Candidate filing begins at 9:00 a.m. on Monday, May 16, for the 2022 ballot.  There are 41 offices available for filing including U.S. Senator, U.S. Representative, State Senator, State Representative, judicial positions, County Prosecuting Attorney and Public Utility District Commissioner.  Candidate filings for political party Precinct Committee Officer positions will also be accepted. A complete list of offices up for election can be found at www.snoco.org/elections.

Candidates may file online at www.snoco.org/elections starting at 9:00 a.m. on Monday, May 16, until 4:00 p.m. Friday, May 20.  In-person filing for races wholly within Snohomish County is available at the Snohomish County Auditor’s Office from May 16 through May 20 during the business hours of 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.   Candidates for statewide and multi-county offices may file online or in-person with the Washington State Secretary of State in Olympia.

The Snohomish County Auditor’s Office is located on the first floor of the Administration West Building at 3000 Rockefeller Avenue in Everett.

To file for office, an individual must be a registered voter.  Positions may have additional requirements such as being a registered voter within the district, being a minimum age, or paying a filing fee.  Requirements for each position can be found in the 2022 Candidate Guide posted at www.snoco.org/elections.

Each candidate will provide the following at the time of filing:

• Name (as listed in the voter registration records)
• Date of birth
• Email address
• Filing fee (if applicable)

Additional information, including a complete list of offices up for election, candidate filing fees, and position qualifications, is available at www.snoco.org/elections.  Contact Snohomish County Elections at (425) 388-3444 or elections@snoco.org with questions.