Almost 1,000 people are homeless in Yamhill County, and almost half are under 18, according to numbers released Thursday from Yamhill Community Action Partnership’s second annual homeless count, conducted Jan. 27.

The official count was 936, so that’s the number YCAP is reporting to the state, said spokeswoman Amy Burton said. She said survey-takers actually counted 967, but some homeless residents didn’t fill out their census forms to the state’s satisfaction.

Some 453 of the county’s homeless are under the age of 18 and more than a dozen of them are under the age of 1, according to the survey. It indicates that 471 — about half — lack any sort of shelter from the elements at all.

YCAP conducts the adult half of the count and the public schools conduct the child tally. Last year, the school system didn’t use state-approved forms, so the state’s Housing and Community Services agency accepted only YCAP’s adult figure of 404.

The school count last year came in at about 200. A more aggressive effort this year had a lot to do with the big jump, it appears, though economic conditions probably contributed as well.

Overall, the actual count is up 56 percent and the count accepted by the state is up 132 percent.

Since few children were included in last year’s official state count — only those located by YCAP in its search of camps, cars and other makeshift living quarters, not those identified by the schools — families were judged to account for only 24 percent of Yamhill County’s homeless population. This year, said YCAP Director Lee Means, they were judged to account for 74 percent.

The percentage would be up significantly even if the state had accepted last year’s school count, Means said. The simple fact is that more families are homeless this year than last, she said.

Means said homeless shelters around the county feature a total of 253 beds, which she termed “woefully inadequate.” She said 50 of the 82 families applying for shelter beds last year had to be turned away for lack of space.

There aren’t enough beds in good times, she said, and these are by no means good times.

Means said YCAP received $300,000 through President Obama’s stimulus package. She said the plan was to spread it over three years, but YCAP ended up spending half of it in the first five months, forcing it to declare a temporary moratorium.
“It shows just how much need there is in our own county,” she said.

Means said the state is facing a potential $2.5 billion deficit for its 2011-13 fiscal year. There is no end in sight for struggling families, she said.

She is particularly worried about low-income children.

“Kids need stability,” she said. “They need to know they can come home and things will be the same.”