Liberal Forum

 Thousands of volunteers across the country spent a night in January canvassing their communities to look for people who may be experiencing homelessness, as part of the government's annual Point-in-Time count.
 The count is required by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, and its results can be used alongside other factors to determine funding. But those estimates have often not been accurate, some experts told ABC News.
 "We only have one day to get a snapshot of the homeless population," said Hannah Anderson with the YWCA, a Point-in-Time count organizer in Snohomish County, Washington. "You can't be accurate when you're counting people for one day."

Aside from the timing, not much is standardized about the count: Organizations gather the data in different ways, with some more prone to undercounting than others, advocates for the homeless say.
 "The data may not be consistent across jurisdictions, or even within a single jurisdiction from year to year," Tars said. "That makes it a little bit more challenging to draw meaningful data and trends from what's collected."Countless ways to countABC News and the ABC Owned Television Stations' data team reached out to hundreds of Point-in-Time count organizers across the country to get a clearer picture of the scale of homelessness – and how they measure it – in their communities.

Of the several dozen coordinators that answered, most said they relied on volunteers to conduct their counts and about one in 10 said they used only hired staff or temporary workers.
 The number of people conducting the counts ranged from 15 in Huntsville, Alabama, to 1,500 in San Diego.
 Even in regions comparable in population, the numbers of counters varied drastically. Suburban DuPage County, Illinois, and Bergen County, New Jersey, have almost the same population and relatively similar estimates of people experiencing homelessness. But while DuPage County has about 100 volunteers for its Point-in-Time counts, Bergen County has 20 to cover a similar area.

In 2017, the National Homelessness Law Center published a report called, "Don't Count on it: How the HUD Point-in-Time Count Underestimates the Homelessness Crisis in America." The report cited estimates that the true scale of homelessness falls between 2.5 and 10.2 times what the Point-in-Time count suggests.

One community has developed its own way to try to count its homeless population more accurately. In Seattle, Owen Kajfasz uses administrative data from service providers and advanced research techniques to estimate the number of people experiencing homelessness on an average day over the course of a year.
 In 2022, that number came out to 53,532 – nearly four times that year's Point-in-Time count of 13,700 people. While the organization still has to report the smaller number to HUD, Kajfasz said he uses the larger number in local and state communications and advocacy."It's really important to be able to look at what the true scale of the problem is so that we can better allocate resources to it," Kajfasz said.

LowIQTrash » 7 minutes ago » wrote: ↑

7 minutes ago

Part 4

In 2022, that number came out to 53,532 – nearly four times that year's Point-in-Time count of 13,700 people. While the organization still has to report the smaller number to HUD, Kajfasz said he uses the larger number in local and state communications and advocacy.

RebelGator » 2 minutes ago » wrote: ↑

2 minutes ago

The government should just buy all of them a house......it's cheaper than what's spent on counting the addicts, alcoholics, and slugs.

RebelGator » Today, 1:58 pm » wrote: ↑

Today, 1:58 pm

The government should just buy all of them a house......it's cheaper than what's spent on counting the addicts, alcoholics, and slugs.

walkingstick » 11 minutes ago » wrote: ↑

11 minutes ago

no more money. all gone to the ukraine and israel jews. /// poverty in usa will keep growing. all planned. /// no more home owners. all workers will rent from the government. no more food stores. government will ration out food. all planned. set back. no stopping comrade harris and her communist thugs. a vote for comrade harris is justification

LowIQTrash » Today, 1:51 pm » wrote: ↑

Today, 1:51 pm

Part 3

The report cited estimates that the true scale of homelessness falls between 2.5 and 10.2 times what the Point-in-Time count suggests.

“Show me the man and I’ll find you the crime” LAVRENTIY BERIA

RebelGator » Today, 1:58 pm » wrote: ↑

Today, 1:58 pm

The government should just buy all of them a house......it's cheaper than what's spent on counting the addicts, alcoholics, and slugs.

Please seat yourself.



I like the very things you hate.

ROG62 » Today, 7:57 pm » wrote: ↑

Today, 7:57 pm

that's quite the range...

DeezerShoove » Today, 8:53 pm » wrote: ↑

Today, 8:53 pm

Yeah. One big house.

LowIQTrash » Yesterday, 10:27 pm » wrote: ↑

Yesterday, 10:27 pm

They might as well. Certain hotels in NYC are getting paid over $1M every month to house illegals / migrants.

Please seat yourself.



I like the very things you hate.