South Carolina's Multiple Choice Homeless Census

(Columbia, South Carolina) The Midlands Area Consortium for the Homeless issued a census report on the number of homeless in South Carolina (6,759) which includes 1,091 total in Richland and Lexington Counties.

However, if you don't like those numbers, there's this:

But, illustrating the confusing nature of the numbers, they are based on a broader definition of homeless than the federal government's. "Therefore, this report does not offer an exact count of individuals who are homeless -- instead it provides multiple estimates," the report says.

So, instead of relying upon a nationally-recognized definition of "homeless," South Carolina census takers made up their own and then blamed "multiple estimates" on "the confusing nature of the numbers."

I'm fairly convinced that a count of heads using one definition would produce only one result. Furthermore, the validity of any census must be questioned when a variety of results are achieved.