COEUR d'ALENE - Kootenai County appears to be seeing a homeless decrease like the rest of the state, according to data from a one-day homeless count conducted statewide.

But that's probably not accurate, according to Matt Hutchinson.

"It's a one-day count, so there may have been climate issues, and I know our volunteer base (for the count) was a little bit lower," said Hutchinson, social service director with St. Vincent de Paul. "I don't think it's lower."

There are 2,199 homeless individuals statewide, according to the 2011 Point-In-Time count, conducted in January by the Idaho Housing and Finance Association and regional housing coalitions.

That's down 6 percent from last year.

The Region One count, covering Benewah, Bonner, Boundary, Shoshone and Kootenai counties, reported 559 homeless in the region, down from 644 counted last year.

But that new number is shaky, Hutchinson said.

He pointed out that the number of volunteers surveying the homeless on the streets was lower this year, slimming the chances of tracking all the folks who live under bridges, in camps, in their cars, and wherever else.

"That's not a solidified number at all," Hutchinson said.

Homeless services in the area aren't seeing any decrease in demand, he added.

The SVDP HELP Center serves more than 100 individuals a day, he pointed out.

And there is a lengthy waiting list for SVDP's emergency shelters, transitional housing programs and permanent housing.

"We're talking 81 degrees outside, and there's a waiting list for shelter. That's not normal," he said.

Teresa Martinson, board member and volunteer coordinator at Fresh Start, said the number of homeless who utilize the drop-in center is rising.

"I believe we're seeing more unemployment, a lot of people are losing their homes," she explained, adding that folks seek Fresh Start for free health clinics, snacks, laundry and more. "I don't think we draw them in. I think that they're there."

The nonprofit served about 3,000 individuals in 2010.

Martinson believes the homeless numbers are higher than the PIT count reports, she added.

About half of the PIT surveys handed out to Fresh Start clients didn't get filled out, she observed.

"Homeless people are hard to count," she said. "Unless someone is really taking names and all that and being very specific, you can't get real true information."

The PIT count is conducted by distributing and collecting surveys at shelters and centers like Fresh Start. Volunteers also track down homeless individuals on the street.

Of the homeless counted in Region One this year, 129 were under 18.

That number Hutchinson has more confidence in, he said, because of survey help from the Coeur d'Alene School District, Project Safe Place and Health and Welfare.

"The youth number was shocking," he said.

He suspected that many of those youth are connected to homeless families, he added.

The Region One data also showed that 66 homeless individuals were veterans, and 103 were victims of domestic violence.

Also, 145 reported unemployment as the cause of their homelessness.

Substance abuse was another high cause, with 111 citing it.

The answer to this issue is simple, Hutchinson said.

"We need housing, we need jobs," he said. "It's pretty easy."

Dean Berkness, 50, said he has been living in his vehicle in Coeur d'Alene for months since he could no longer afford his apartment.

It's a hard time to get back on your feet, Berkness noted as he sat at a picnic table behind Fresh Start.

"Places (rentals) are expensive, and it's not easy to get a job," he said.

Jennifer Cann is hunting for both a home and a job, she said, requisites for getting back her three young children from the state.

"I'm just hoping and praying," the 29-year-old said, adding that she was kicked out of a trailer park earlier this month.

She hasn't observed the crowds thinning at Fresh Start, she added.

"I see a lot of people," she said. "I used to feel sorry for them, and now I'm in the same position."