We've all heard the numbers: 3.5 million people are homeless in the US, more than a third of whom are children. In New York City on any given night, 38,000 people are without permanent shelter. How do we know this?

This piece looks at how New York city counts its most precariously housed inhabitants. New York has been recognized for having some of the most sophisticated counting methods in the country. Through an annual city-wide count and more frequent community counts, the city's Department of Homeless Services has a pretty good sense of who is on the street. (See their day-by-day census here.) Hopefully, knowledge of the numbers can inform solutions.

This piece is available from the Public Radio Exchange.