Why Accuracy in Homelessness Data Matters

The number of people experiencing homelessness is vastly undercounted by the official federal count, writes Tamera Kohler in an opinion piece for Governing — but cities can do better.

Kohler argues that there are existing tools and methods that can help cities more accurately understand the scale of the homelessness crisis. “Better yet, they can allow cities to identify every unhoused person by name, track their personal history with homelessness, and address their specific housing and health needs.”

According to Kohler, “The shortcomings of the point-in-time count are numerous; it simply can't encapsulate the complex and varied forces behind homelessness.” Unhoused people may not be sleeping outdoors every night, and punitive laws can push people to less visible places. In some cases, lack of access to certain properties (for example, San Diego advocates only started counting people on California Department of Transportation property in 2023) can make a major difference in the count. The challenges are often exacerbated in rural areas, where dispersed geography contributes to difficulty in accurately identifying unhoused residents.

Kohler recommends homeless management information systems (HMIS) as one tool for tracking people’s needs and interactions with local services. “An even more powerful way of using HMIS technology is creating by-name data — comprehensive data sets updated in real time that record each person's name, needs, circumstances and history with homelessness. By-name data empowers communities to coordinate personalized care and resources for individuals.”