Can we get better at measuring homelessness?

Someone who has to survive without a regular place to sleep at night is vulnerable to danger, illness, and the more insidious harm of being shunned. One way to quantify the harm caused by homelessness is to understand how many people are experiencing it. How do we do that? We try to count them, and one city is leading the charge on a new approach. Teo tells Clare how it could change our view of our unhoused neighbors.

We want to answer your questions about how our world works! Click here to submit a question using our online form, or email the team at [e-mail]

Support the show by supporting our home, KUOW Public Radio in Seattle.

Sources in this episode:

• Annual Homelessness Assessment Report, Department of Housing and Urban Development, 2024
• Full Point-in-Time Counts, Housing, Infrastructure, and Communities Canada
• Point-in-Time Count Underway, King County Regional Homelessness Authority
• Point-in-Time Count presentation, King County Regional Homelessness Authority
• Evaluation of Respondent-Driven Sampling prevalence estimators using real-world reported network degree, Lisa Avery and Michael Rotondi, Sage Journal
• Point-in-Time Count: Volunteer training, Texas Homeless Network, 2020
• Point-in-Time Count standards and methodologies training, Department of Housing and Urban Development, 2018
• Interview with Maria Arnes, PIT volunteer, 2026
• Interview with Jack Almquist, University of Washington, 2026
• Interview with William Towey, King County Regional Homelessness Authority, 2026
• Interview with Ann Oliva, National Alliance to End Homelessness, 2025

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.