The Seattle/King County Coalition on Homelessness, with the help of over 1,000  volunteers, will perform its 36th One Night Count of those without shelter between 2 and 5 a.m. on Friday.

Vashon participated for the first time last year, and with some procedural adjustments made to accommodate for the rural nature of the area, will participate again this year.

The count began in 1980 to gather data to inform and advocate for policies and programs to address the growing crisis of homelessness. Over the years, it has expanded to become the largest community-organized count of its kind in the country. Last year, 3,772 people were found to be without shelter and living on the streets, another 3,282 were living in shelters.

In conjunction with the count, King County’s Homeless Youth and Young Adult Initiative will run Count Us In, a voluntary survey for homeless and unstably housed youth between the ages of 12 and 25. The survey collects demographic information from anyone in the age range that is either without shelter or who has an unstable shelter situation, such as sleeping on a friend’s couch. These surveys will be available at the Vashon Library from 3 to 8 p.m. on Thursday.