This data was used in a story published November 21, 2022 titled "About-face: Why Newsom relented, released $1 billion despite lackluster local homeless plans". The data set can be found in the file named ca-hhap-3-pit.csv and has 4 columns, which come from different sources:
| Column name | Description, caveats, and source |
|---|---|
| COC | Continuum of care names and ID numbers |
| 2020 Unsheltered | The number of unsheltered people counted during the 2020 point in time count. Please note that nearly half of the continuums of care didn’t conduct a 2020 unsheltered count so HUD used the 2019 unsheltered values. This explains why some continuums have the exact same value for 2019 and 2020 unsheltered people. This comes from the federal HUD data exchange. |
| 2022 Unsheltered |
The number of unsheltered people counted during the 2022 point in time count. This comes from a CalMatters analysis of published local point in time counts. Two continuums have not released their 2022 unsheltered counts:
Two continuums used their 2021 unsheltered counts for their 2022 report:
|
| 2024 HHAP-3 Goal Unsheltered | The continuum’s documented goal for the 2024 unsheltered count.
This comes from an analysis by the state's Business, consumer services housing and housing agency of the original goals submitted by local governments in their applications for HHAP-3 funding. |
As CalMatters housing reporter Manuela Tobias noted in her October 6th story, there are important things to keep in mind when analyzing point in time count data:
The unsheltered numbers are collected by volunteers every other year on a given winter’s night, and depend largely on their untrained eyes. That means people who are couch-surfing, crouched in less visible spots, or staying in cars without telltale signs of habitation go undetected. The sheltered counts, collected by service providers, are more accurate.
The accuracy of the tallies depends largely on how many people show up to count. When local agencies rallied volunteers in the early months of the year, the Omicron variant was still tearing through the state. Technical glitches in apps used to count people also threw things off: The unsheltered count in Venice, a postcard example of homelessness in Los Angeles, inexplicably dropped from 509 people in 2019 to 0 amid reports of user errors and poor internet connection.
If you use this dataset, please mention it was collected and cleaned by CalMatters. If you have any questions about this dataset, feel free to contact us.
CalMatters is a nonpartisan, nonprofit journalism venture committed to explaining how California’s state Capitol works and why it matters.