Imperfect data collection, difficult to implement, dependant on volunteer labour, not necessarily welcomed by those who are meant to benefit from it, a compulsory practice in order to be eligible for government funding.
What is it? It’s a point-in-time count, rated essential to evaluate a community understanding of, and commitment to, a growing local homeless population, even as it is forever doomed to inaccuracy. Perfect or imperfect, the US Government has adopted biannual point-in-time counts as a measure of one local population’s need, and a means of favouring one community over another.
If your community uses this method of evaluating a continent wide homelessness crisis, you may welcome the opportunity to listen to this report from experts in San Francisco, which was aired on WQED, a public radio station.
Learn about San Francisco’s knowledge the less-than-perfect point-in-time counts as a means to mitigate a growing world-wide social disaster, at KQED: The Point-in-Time Count Is Meant to be a Snapshot of Unhoused Populations. How Clear is That Picture?
