People who are experiencing homelessness generally have no means of participating in social activities that can allow for identifying their numbers, needs and habits. They have no fixed address or mail service to participate in census surveys.
How can they be counted in order to provide a community with the scope of its burden to provide shelter and support? In order to get at least a general idea of the number of people who are homeless in a community or region, a point-in-time count is held on a single day and utilizes as many volunteers as may be useful. It has become a common practice.
Point-in-time counts were initially opposed by community agencies and advocates for a number of reasons. One of the concerns was that point-in-time counts focus on people who are staying in emergency shelters and those who are sleeping rough. As well, they don’t include the generally larger number of individuals and families who may be “couch surfing” — staying temporarily with friends or family or living in relationships that aren’t safe.
So, what to make of a program with so many warts? King County in Washington State (which includes Seattle) is foregoing its point-in-time count for the second year running, triggering a debate about the value of this method of measuring homelessness, as well as highlighting other alternatives.
Read more at KIRO 7: King County skipping annual homeless count for second year
