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Re: “Why the homeless count continues, even with accuracy in doubt” [Feb. 7, A1]:
The article on the Point-in-Time count is provocative. King County is just one of all the Washington state counties required to do this, and it is equally pointless everywhere.
Although I commend the people doing it (their intentions are good), this enormous effort year after year only produces woefully inaccurate statistics. Homeless folks are often suspicious of such inquiries. Even when a charity (such as one that I run) offers essential assistance, they may give false names, false locations, false phone numbers. Many are afraid of being displaced from their encampments; some are hiding from law enforcement, some from families, some from abusers; and some suffer from paranoia. For the count, it is highly unlikely that many will come out to be counted. There are other ways to reach them.
Funds spent on the Point-in-Time count should be used instead for programs that actually benefit the people in question.
Laurie Riley, Port Townsend
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