A California survey has found overwhelming public support for a database to track homelessness in the state.
Of 1,000 adults surveyed, a solid 86 percent said it's important to create a statewide database. Seven percent said it's not important, and 7 percent were unsure. (The total percentage exceeds 100 due to rounding.)
The survey, which was commissioned and released by Accenture, did not address the methodology or any other details of such a database.
The first question posed was: "How important is it to create a database of homeless individuals and families throughout the state so government officials can better understand the causes of homelessness?" Among respondents:
— 35 percent said it's "important,"
— 26 percent it's "very important,"
— 26 percent said it's "somewhat important,"
— 7 percent said it's "not important," and
— 7 percent were not sure.
Among the women surveyed, 90 percent support a statewide database on homelessness. Among millennials and Gen Xers, 89 supported such an effort.
The survey also posed a related question: "Should there be concrete data collected that tracks what type of resources are available to the homeless population and how they are being used?"
The answers to that question were broken down geographically among the state's major metro areas, with almost no difference: In San Francisco, 81 percent said yes. In the Sacramento area, 80 percent said yes. And in both the Los Angeles and San Diego metro areas, 79 percent said yes.
McGuire Research Services polled the 1,000 adults for Accenture from July 16-27. No margin of error was provided.
