Not long ago, I joined volunteers in Washington, DC to conduct the local homelessness census. This “point-in-time” count happens every year here in late January. Although I frequently use point-in-time data to track trends in homelessness in DC and around the country, this was my first count. I was not alone. Numbering among the 100 or so volunteers this year were HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan, Barbara Poppe, the director of the US Interagency Council, and the Deputy Secretary of Veteran Affairs, W. Scott Gould.
