This week we focused on homeless counts. On Wednesday, we got to listen to two guest speakers discuss Point-In-Time Counts, including the issues with these counts. Misrepresentation is common with counts, because if not properly administered (or cared for enough), the numbers representing people without homes could be much smaller than reality, which then make the issue look like less of a problem. Counts also cost an insane amount of money, and the cost varies greatly. Point-In-Time counts are not funded and depend on private funding or sponsors. These counts were described as “inherently political”, which makes sense, because based on the political atmosphere of a community, certain information can be shared or withheld to fit a certain agenda.
For our second data exercise, I looked at the homeless counts from 2 SoCal cities that I am very familiar with. I live in Highland (a neighboring city to Redlands), and out of the 1,866 homeless people accounted for in 2017 in all of San Bernardino County, only 35 of these people were in Highland. I find this number low, and I think it’s due to Highland and San Bernardino’s border and homeless people crossing it so often. It would be hard to determine which city these people belong to. If you visited West Highland, you would see why 35 is a low number. San Bernardino is literally right next door, and had 491 reported homeless. The other city I picked was Anaheim, where most of the homeless were found near the Anaheim/Fullerton border. This is generally a poorer part of town. 80% of sheltered homeless in Anaheim are women, and 71% of unsheltered are men. 906 people were accounted for in total, and I mainly focused on the Disneyland area since that’s what I know best. There are actually many homeless people living right around Disneyland, but people certainly do not think about that. Disneyland is associated with happiness and wealth (I mean, have you seen those ticket prices?) but this just further proves that homelessness is all around, in rich areas and not. We just let it go unnoticed, and inaccurate homeless counts do not help us see the real issue.
CITATIONS: Highland Homeless Count Info– http://wp.sbcounty.gov/dbh/sbchp/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/08/2017-SBC-Prelimi nary-Point-In-Time-Count-Report.pdf
Anaheim Homeless Count Info– https://www.anaheim.net/DocumentCenter/View/14920
During the discussion on Point-in-Time Counts, I was surprised when I noticed just how political the counts are. We have heard of authorities removing the homeless from their communities just before counts in order to decrease their number. It is true that most of the counts are misrepresented.
I also did my data exercise on the city where I live in Southern California: Pasadena. I found the number was inaccurate and low for the homeless in Pasadena. I liked how you noticed the homeless population around Disneyland. I agree, that they go unnoticed and misrepresented all over the U.S.
I also felt like the numbers I was finding from PIT counts were low. I looked at Portland for my data exercise and it seemed like the homeless people were completely underrepresented. I wish there was a more calculated way to get accurate counts.