Abstract Summary
Building upon the insightful work of Cobham (2020), which underscores the significance of what we count, this paper contends that the methods employed in counting are equally critical. As demonstrated by Cobham (2020), policies and decisions are underpinned by evidential data; thus, being excluded from these datasets equates to being overlooked. This paper delves into the analysis of homelessness counts and considerations in Ireland, aiming to illustrate how counting methodologies lead to significant underestimations of the homeless population. Existing literature has predominantly focused on the methodological foundations of homelessness counts (Bush et al., 2016; Kuzmanovski, 2020), revealing not only their failure to provide a comprehensive view of the population (Schneider et al., 2018) but also their inadequacy in acquiring pertinent information to address homelessness effectively (Bairéad and Norris, 2023). Accurately enumerating the homeless remains a complex challenge, driven by various factors that contribute to an often incomplete understanding of the true extent of the problem (Andrews et al., 2020). Utilizing a critical data approach combined with interviews of state and NGO stakeholders, this paper seeks to document and reconsider the political, social and spatial implications of homelessness data flows and what their implications for homelessness and housing policies. In the context of digitization, it highlights on the data politics of administering homeless services, inaccessibility of census services, the lack of coordination among data-collecting organizations, and financial and resource constraints that contribute to fragmented efforts and the underrepresentation of the most marginalized populations. The paper contends that achieving a more comprehensive understanding of homelessness is essential for informing effective policies and interventions to address this humanitarian crisis. By exploring the intricacies of counting methodologies and their impact, it aims to contribute to the ongoing discourse on the importance of robust data collection in shaping policies that truly reflect the realities of homelessness.
