So Kateri Mottaz, a case manager for Housing Hope, found it frustrating waiting for the homeless to come in to the Tulalip Health Clinic Jan. 22 to be counted in this year Point in Time survey.

Mottaz, who has been volunteering with the count for seven years, said it keeps getting more difficult. At first they would just look for homeless and when they saw one make a checkmark. They they started having to ask some questions. Now, they even have to get a birthday.

“That’s hard to get from some people,” Mottaz said.

To encourage homeless to come to the clinic to be counted, fliers were put up around the community, offering a free lunch and supplies.

After about four hours, only four people had been counted.

“It’s difficult to get an accurate count. They don’t want their privacy invaded,” she said.

Mottaz said there are many reasons people become homeless but the top ones are mental illness and addiction.

“We need better mental health services and in-patient treatment,” she said, adding “not necessarily better but more. We’re overwhelmed by the number that come in.”

Mottaz said it’s hard for the mentally ill to get housing because landlords don’t think they can “take care of the house.”

Landlords feel the same way about criminals who have been let out of jail.

“It doesn’t matter how long it’s been,” since they committed the crime,” she said.

People who have lost a job, been evicted and have poor credit also have a hard time finding housing.

Finally, drug addicts have a hard time getting housing.

“It’s hard to get out of addiction,” Mottaz said.

The number of homeless women, families and children also are increasing.

“I can’t believe the number of teens on the street,” Mottaz said.

The biggest need in the community is transitional housing,” she said.

“There’s a huge waiting list,” Mottaz added, saying many of the clean and sober houses are rundown. “They just need a nice, warm place to be.”

Tami Krell said along with the clinic, staff and volunteers were at food banks and community dinners to count homeless.

“The days of canvasing is slowly going away because yes we need to have contact with them now and get the initials of their first and last names to be counted,” Krell said.

She said she still likes to find homeless out in the community.

“I love to drive around and canvas and see if I can talk to them,” she said. “Not all of them have the ways and/or the means to make it to a staging area.”

Laverne Grove has been working with the homeless for about 10 years at the Tulalip shelter, which consists of six cabins. They are open 24/7, year-round. Families with children get first choice, and they can stay for up to six months. They are connected directly to tribal services so they “can get on their feet,” Grove said.

She said clients can get help from a variety of classes, including parenting and budgeting. “They can step up to be self-sufficient.”

Grove said many of the homeless she sees have had a variety of hardships, including discord in their families, abuse and addiction.

“They have to see their own self-worth,” she said. “When they feel worthy again, then they can learn to respect themselves and others.”

Grove said she loves the job because she is a people person.

“When you’re down you need someone to listen to you,” she said. “I lend them my ear or a shoulder to cry on. That fulfills me to be there for somebody.”