Bellingham’s invisible housing crisis: homeless children

A homelessness crisis has emerged in Whatcom County that most people don’t see. If there was a bright spot in rising homelessness numbers over the past decade, it was the successful effort by local governments and agencies to reduce homelessness among children. The county’s overall homeless population shot up 69% from 2012 to 2022, according to the latest Point-in-Time count. Meanwhile, the number of homeless families with children declined 37% from 2008 to 2020, according to the 2020