“There’s a fine line between not doing enough and allowing homelessness” (Samantha Green, ASR). How do counties, more specifically cities, walk the line and find a common ground that neither promotes or admonishes homelessness? We all know that there are wrong ways to help the homeless, but is there a right way? If so, what would the “right way” look like?

Through her work as a case manager for Applied Survey Research, Green suggests that one of the best places to begin to assist the homeless is by conducting detailed homeless counts. Each county that receives federal funding is required to conduct homeless counts. However, since there are no universal guidelines and no funding allocated for counties to administer the counts, the counts tend to lack consistency and depth. If the state or federal government allocated money to conduct homeless counts then our society would offer more effective care strategies for the homeless.

Many counties fear that offering more services to the homeless draw larger groups of displaced individuals to their cities. Known as the Magnet Theory, Green implied that the reason why a large number of counties refuse to do accurate counts is because they don’t want to “attract” more homeless people to the area. Though services are an added incentive, most homeless people migrate for reasons of safety, job opportunities, weather, etc.  What do inaccurate homeless counts mean for the homeless people residing in the community?