A man warms his hand by a fire near a homeless encampment in Chicago
A man warms his hands by the fire he created nearby a homeless encampment under a major interstate freeway in Chicago. City staff and volunteers recently completed a count of homeless people in Chicago. Courtesy of Charles Rex Arbogast / Associated Press
A man warms his hand by a fire near a homeless encampment in Chicago

Reset with Sasha-Ann Simons

What’s the best way to count Chicago’s homeless population?

Point-in-time counts tally how many people are in shelters and on the streets on a single night. It’s only one way to quantify the unhoused.

A man warms his hands by the fire he created nearby a homeless encampment under a major interstate freeway in Chicago. City staff and volunteers recently completed a count of homeless people in Chicago. Courtesy of Charles Rex Arbogast / Associated Press
By Max Lubbers

Chicago recently did its point-in-time assessment, but some advocates say the method underestimates the actual number of unhoused people. That’s a problem, they say, because the data point helps determine how much federal funding a city receives for homeless services and prevention.

Reset talks with a housing and homelessness policy expert about how this count works — and where the gaps exist.

GUESTS: Bob Palmer, policy director, Housing Action Illinois

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Reset with Sasha-Ann Simons

A man warms his hand by a fire near a homeless encampment in Chicago
A man warms his hands by the fire he created nearby a homeless encampment under a major interstate freeway in Chicago. City staff and volunteers recently completed a count of homeless people in Chicago. Courtesy of Charles Rex Arbogast / Associated Press
A man warms his hand by a fire near a homeless encampment in Chicago

Reset with Sasha-Ann Simons

What’s the best way to count Chicago’s homeless population?

Point-in-time counts tally how many people are in shelters and on the streets on a single night. It’s only one way to quantify the unhoused.

A man warms his hands by the fire he created nearby a homeless encampment under a major interstate freeway in Chicago. City staff and volunteers recently completed a count of homeless people in Chicago. Courtesy of Charles Rex Arbogast / Associated Press
By Max Lubbers

Chicago recently did its point-in-time assessment, but some advocates say the method underestimates the actual number of unhoused people. That’s a problem, they say, because the data point helps determine how much federal funding a city receives for homeless services and prevention.

Reset talks with a housing and homelessness policy expert about how this count works — and where the gaps exist.

GUESTS: Bob Palmer, policy director, Housing Action Illinois

More From

Reset with Sasha-Ann Simons