Source: Independent Institute
by Christopher J Calton
“It is that time of year when the United States counts its homeless population. Every January, local governments conduct a point-in-time (PIT) count, which provides a snapshot of the homeless population on a given day. Since 2007, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has published this data to track changes in the homelessness population at the national level. The PIT count is useful. Because data is collected annually using a standard method, we can compare the effects of competing policies across time and place. Critics often complain that the PIT fails to capture everybody who briefly experiences homelessness throughout the year, but this does not undermine the data’s analytical value as long as the counts take place under uniform conditions. For the most part, this is the case.” (01/30/26)
https://www.independent.org/article/2026/01/30/homeless-count-pit/