This week in class there were two presentations by individuals who interact with the topic of homelessness. Through these presentations I was able to gain a further understanding on topics discussed or assigned in class. The aspects they presented about homelessness and their experiences along with interpretations was the tool in doing that.

Monday’s presentation added so much more context to the issues of the relationships between law enforcement officers and the homeless themselves. It provided a view into the local enforcement in San Bernardino County today, and their methodology of how they interact with the homeless. The present methods gave direction to where the book ” Down, Out, and Under Arrest…” by Forest Stuart left off, describing how therapeutic policing influenced  the lives of the homeless, specifically on Skid Row.

Prior to Wednesday’s class we had to complete Data Exercise # 2. For the exercise I examined the methods for point in time counts, in Ventura and LA counties. During this I had a lot of questions regarding how money was used, who decides what way is the right way to count, and who gets surveys or doesn’t. Through the presentation many of my questions were answered and overall I understood how things were executed prior to the homeless count in each city. I learned that money was allocated through sponsors, count methods depend on who’s running it which can be outside organizations. The biggest concept I carried away and what appears evident in success in varying methodology for counts based on the community.