To help the homeless, there’s an app for that

The gauzy glow of a flashlight inside a blue canvas tent drew Susan Just’s attention. She and three other volunteers had walked along city streets for almost two hours on a chilly January night as part of Sacramento County’s biennial homeless count. The foursome searched an area outlined on a navigational app on their phones, but they had yet to come across anyone who appeared to live outside until spotting the blue glow.

The tent stood on a muddy, tree-lined bank above a busy road a half-mile from the campus of California State University, Sacramento. Shining her flashlight from the sidewalk below, Ms. Just, a retired state worker, offered a cautious “Hello?” A few moments later, two men emerged from the tent, and she conducted short interviews with each of them, recording their answers using another mobile app.

The survey’s organizers introduced the two apps this year seeking to gain a more accurate and