Survey shows scope of homelessness in Flathead

On any given night, some residents of the Flathead rest uneasily. They fall under various states of homelessness — sleeping in a car, in a shelter, outside, or on a friend’s couch with little idea of where they’ll be staying the next week.

The state of homelessness in the Flathead is constantly in flux, but on one night in January, local agencies captured the scope of a night of homelessness in the valley through the annual “point-in-time” survey.

The results for the Flathead, released in early June, indicate that social services are providing solid ground for many people struggling through homelessness or housing instability — but it’s not enough to keep up with the continued lack of affordable housing.

The 2018 survey, administered by United Way and aggregated by the Montana Continuum of Care Coalition, is part of a network of surveys required by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to measure the number of sheltered and unsheltered homeless people at the local, state and national levels. The survey, which asks respondents to self-report their demographic information, family situation and level of housing stability, helps agencies to tailor their services to the specific needs of community members experiencing homelessness for a variety of reasons.

According to Cassidy Kipp, deputy director of the community services department at Community Action Partnership in Kalispell, this year’s survey confirms what many who work with homeless people on a daily basis recognize: that the housing situation in the Flathead is more nuanced and, for some, precarious than the strict definition of homelessness.

“While there were 233 people who were literally homeless — so, living on the streets, in a vehicle, in a tent or in a shelter — there were many more who did the survey because they identified as being in housing instability,” Kipp said. “So that could be that they’re doubled up with friends, that they’re in a hotel, or a hundred other reasons. But they self-identify as housing instability, and I think that that’s really significant.”

The survey pointed to 90 people in that shaky middle ground, where one wrong move or hand of bad luck could tip the scales toward homelessness. “They themselves feel that insecurity of housing, which probably means they don’t know where they’re going to be sleeping one week from now, two weeks from now,” Kipp said. “One thing could be that tipping point that puts them into homelessness.”

Based on the results of the survey, “We believe there are many people out there who are living in cars or couch surfing with people they know,” said Sherry Stevens, the executive director and CEO of United Way in Flathead County, who organized the volunteer-led administration of the survey in January. “We’re trying to find out who those people are and which resources in the Flathead can help them. There’s been a huge outreach right now to reach out, particularly to families.”

While the Flathead’s survey data will be aggregated with the state in the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s annual report, the specific county numbers are crucial for assessing local agencies’ effectiveness of outreach, identifying trends and applying for critical state and federal funding.

Kipp, who is analyzing the data on behalf of Flathead HIRE (Homelessness Interagency Resource Education), a network of social service agencies in the county, sees more than numbers when she looks at the stark array of tables and filters on the Continuum of Care’s website. Combined with communication and the agencies’ own record-keeping, the data holds key insights to years of hard work in the community to help meet people where they are.

For instance, this year’s survey confirmed what Kipp and staff at other agencies, such as Ray of Hope, Samaritan House and Abbie Shelter, have identified as an uptick in the number of single person households seeking assistance. “Internally, we always track what type of applications we’re receiving. Is it single person households? Is it families? What does that demographic look like?” Kipp said.

The slight increase in single homeless persons “is exactly what’s reflected on [the survey], which is really a helpful thing for us because [that means] our internal tracking is really effective. We are being able to cater our service delivery to help identify what that actual need is and this reinforces that and says, ‘Yes, we’re on that path.’”

Another standout point on this year’s survey was a drop in chronically homeless families — groups consistently homeless, with children — from six last year to none. Kipp can’t specifically explain their ability to “self-resolve” out of homelessness, but said the change reflected that “we as a community are really working hard to try to target to our efforts to meet those who are greatest in need ... and that was a need that was identified last year, so I’m hopeful that this change in data is a reflection that those efforts are being targeted appropriately.”

The 2018 survey also confirmed some trends specific to the Flathead, such as a relatively high percentage of homeless veterans and a large portion of the homeless population — this year, over 30 percent — experiencing homelessness for the first time.

Additionally, the survey indicated that about 30 percent of respondents had been homeless for over a year. Kipp said that fact, in particular, gave her pause.

“We need to evaluate that. Because what that means is that we’re not being able to prevent that housing crisis from continuing on. We need to have an earlier intervention process.”

Looking forward, Kipp and Stevens said the data will be shared and discussed among local social service agencies to apply for funding, raise public awareness and address questions about who isn’t being served and where the resources are most effective.

“The data is so critical because it helps bring funding to the community,” said Stevens. “It’s critical because those dollars really help enhance services through [CAP and Samaritan House].

But the insights are only as as solid as participation in the survey, and Stevens said that United Way is trying in improve that next year by working through the schools, sending volunteers on the streets and increasing outreach through the annual Winter Warm-up event in January.

The outreach goes to keep people from slipping under the radar — through a survey or, better, through a service.

“That’s what our goal is: making sure that people are aware that there are resources available,” said Kipp. “And we need to keep that door open as long as possible for as many people as possible to see if we can help get them into that next spot.”

Reporter Adrian Horton can be reached at ahorton@dailyinterlake.com or at 758-4439.