'80s pop star Cindi Lauper has teamed up with HUD in a program to document homelessness in America.

By Joe Van Acker

Turns out, girls just wanna…count the homeless. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development is partnering with ’80s pop icon and Grammy Award-winner Cyndi Lauper to determine the size and characteristics of the country’s homeless population in its “Make Everyone Count” campaign.

Lauper is a co-founder of the True Colors Fund, an organization promoting gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender equality. The fund is cooperating with HUD as part of its “Forty To None” program.

Lauper and HUD Work Together In Annual Homeless Count

Every January, HUD asks more than 3,000 cities and counties to conduct counts to gather data that provides a better understanding of the plight of America’s homeless.

HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan says that Lauper’s presence will help draw attention to the effort.

“We’re thrilled to have Cyndi join us in this national campaign to expand our understanding of homelessness and to accomplish that, we need people power,” Donovan said. “President Obama has set an ambitious goal to end homelessness as we know it and this effort is critical toward reaching this goal.”

2013 Homeless Count More Detailed Than Before

This year, HUD is placing a greater emphasis on detail with its data collection, particularly regarding homeless children. In 2013, more precise age data, the number of homeless children in families, and even the gender of homeless veterans.

“Every day across America, people struggle to overcome homelessness and we as a society need to join together to ensure that we do all that we can to help them,” Lauper said. “The first step in being able to do that is to understand how many people are actually in need.”

For more information, including FAQs and a PSA by Lauper, please visit the official website.