Issue link: https://newsleader.uberflip.com/i/316941
"You are asserting this statistic, so where does your data come from?" Chapman asked. "You are our consultant, but you don't feel respon- sible to give us this data?" "If you want the backup data, you have to go to those agencies and request it," he told her. Marbut was claiming numbers between 81 and 98 percent reflecting the reductions in visual homelessness in communities with come-as-you-are shelters. The graduation rates for programs ranged between 51 and 83 percent, he said. "How do we come to the numbers that bring us to where we really know what is happening? Where do we get those numbers?" asked Mayor Willie Shaw. "You'll never hear me use that data," replied Marbut. "My data points are, how many people in jail are homeless? What is the emergency room data or EMS transport data? And I use visual data on the streets. These are three data points I talk about everywhere I go. What elected officials are concerned about is the visual homeless," added Marbut. "Recovery is what we want to see," said Shaw. "Your numbers do not include that. Is it not a part of the whole system?" "Absolutely, it's part of the sub-aggregate number. A come- as-you-are shelter is an intake portal, not an Vice Mayor Susan Chapman asked homelessness consultant Robert Marbut a number of questions about data during the May 19 meeting. Photo by Norman Schimmel Sarasota News Leader May 23, 2014 Page 72