Even as the North Olympic Peninsula community last week mourned the murder of a young mother by her ex-boyfriend, housing providers received a grim statistic:
Nearly 120 responders to the annual Point in Time census in Clallam County said domestic violence had contributed to their homelessness.
That means about one in six people living in substandard or uncertain housing — or no housing at all — have been driven from their homes by their partners.
At Healthy Families of Clallam County, the nonprofit agency that ministers to the adult and child victims of domestic violence, the picture was no prettier:
In 2007, the charity helped 961 women and men with crisis intervention and counseling.
In 2008, said Becca Korby, Health Families executive director, “the numbers aren’t decreasing.”