Only 24 homeless in downtown Chi. So you say...

I was made aware this morning of a census report that the City of Chicago released earlier this month stating that

a city census of people living on the street in the downtown area has produced a surprisingly low number: 24.

Call me pessimistic, but upon reading this I (like many others) did a double take. Was this a typo? Did they forget a zero or two? How was "homelessness" being defined? What geographic area did the census cover? Over what length of time was the counting done?

How could the number of homeless in ALL of downtown Chicago be ONLY 24 people? That struck me as utterly absurd. Had the census takers actually walked through downtown Chicago?

The Sun-Times article went on to say:

The downtown count was released on the same day Mayor Daley claimed homelessness across the city was down 12 percent -- from 6,715 in January 2005 to 5,922 at the same time this year -- marking progress in his 10-year Plan to End Homelessness.

"Many people say, 'Are you gonna do it?' I say, 'There's nothing wrong with being on a mission -- a mission of saving souls,'" the mayor said.

Despite my abhorance of anyone on "a mission of saving souls" (it's a power struggle/dominance thing that rubs me the wrong way -- but that's a personal vexation to be dealt with another time), I was interested by this 10-year plan, which I had not heard of previously. Apparently, "The Plan" is a three-front effort begun in 2003 that targets homelessness through up-front prevention, getting homeless persons into permanent housing, and providing wraparound support services that help people address elements in their lives that may lead to homelessness. And the goal is that within ten year's time (by 2013) that homelessness in Chicago will be eliminated. (And we claim our city officials don't have vision!)

By some the 10-Year Plan is already being touted as a success. Mayor Daley said within the last two weeks,

"In short, our plan is working. We're making real progress in helping people find a way out of homelessness -- and preventing them from becoming homeless in the first place. This is exactly what I envisioned when I endorsed Chicago's Plan to End Homelessness in 2003, because I knew we could do better for Chicagoans who find themselves homeless."

What do you say to that? Personally, I don't know if it holds truth or is a political manipulation. But, when the Chicago Coalition for the Homeless is claiming that over the course of a given year approximately 166,000 people experience homelessness in the great Chicago area, and other advocacy groups are claiming that the nightly number of homeless in the Chi is over 21, 000, it makes you wonder the real significance of this current, City-sponsored count of 24. Homelessness is incredibily difficult to count, but the disparity in estimates is alarming.

Some are claiming that the City's report is part of a greater effort to "sanitize" Chicago's downtown image in efforts to bolster their bid for the 2016 Olympics. (Because any of the other city's vying for the spot can claim to have no homelessness...) While this may be true, my concerns are, I think, more grave. (Cheerful thought, eh?) On my personal assumption that the City's data is faulty, I hold great concern that our community's problems are being manipulated merely as progress points on City official's measurements of popularity and "progress," rather than being addressed as serious issues to be dealt with candidly without pandering to a positive voter opinion. (If you ask me, honesty wins my vote more than your doing nothing and claiming you did.) I question if this "24 homeless" is a manifestation of the City's interest in hiding or refusing to recognize the scope of problems including homelessness and poverty in the city. Ignoring the problem does not make it disappear but merely creates additional barriers to positive change. To me this report is a warning siren that the City is preparing to turn its head on homelessness as a "problem solved." Scary thought.

Interestingly enough, less than a week after info about the City's census report first hit the public, the Sun printed a follow-up article that answered some of the original questions concerning the collection details of the census data.

Apparently the census was taken in only a 12-block area of the downtown (because surely downtown Chicago is only 12 blocks big...).

Acting Housing Commissioner Ellen Sahli said a separate count conducted between 9 p.m. and 2 a.m. on a cold night in January -- in a much broader swath that includes all four community areas that take in parts of downtown -- turned up 995 homeless people.

And to the best of my knowledge, that near 1000 people does not include the roughly 6000 that utilize shelters on a nightly basis, nor those that "double-up" (stay in housing with someone else for the night). (Surely if you are staying in a shelter or with a friend you are not really "homeless," right?)

All that said, what is the truth in all this? And who (if anyone) has information that can be utilized to really address this problem and not merely neglect the reality of its graveness? On the Chicago Olympics 2016 webpage they say,

In the words of Daniel Burnham, the pioneering architect of the World's Columbian Exposition who embodies the spirit of Chicago, "Make no little plans; they have no magic to stir men's blood. Make big plans; aim high in work and hope. Remember that our children and grandchildren are going to do things that will amaze us."

If we really believe these to be inspirational words by which to guide the future of our city, shouldn't that mean that as we make big plans we should rely on honest, politically unmotivated evaluations of the situation to guide our efforts, with a concern for betterment not just a good public image? What's the purpose of a beautiful surface if the core is rotting away?