Homelessness along the Front Range: Down in Colorado Springs, up in metro Denver

While homelessness increased in the metro Denver area, the numbers dropped in El Paso County, according to the results of a comprehensive survey conducted this year.

The survey in major cities nationwide on one or two days each January highlighted anew the crisis plaguing metro Denver, whose local governments — notably Colorado's most populous city — have spent significant amounts.

Mayor Mike Johnston, who marked one year in office in July, had vowed to eradicate homelessness in his city within the first four years and has embarked on aggressive campaign to house individuals.

Denver, Aurora and El Paso

The count pegged Denver's total number of homeless people at 6,539 this year, compared to 5,818 last year.

And the city saw only 150 fewer "unsheltered" people — individuals who sleep in public places, such as parks and in cars — compared to the previous year's count.

Between 2022 and 2023, Denver's "unsheltered" homeless population grew by 110 homeless people. This time around, that number dropped from 1,423 to 1,273 in 2024.

In neighboring Aurora, the "unsheltered" homeless population grew — from 163 people in 2023 to 326 this year. The city's total showed 697 homeless individuals, up from 572 last year.

Meanwhile, 70 miles south of metro Denver, the Colorado Springs area witnessed a downward trend.

The number of "unsheltered" people in El Paso County dropped from 374 last year to 259 this year — the lowest number counted since 2015.

In total, homelessness decreased by 12% in El Paso County over last year, with 1,146 people considered both “sheltered,” meaning sleeping in emergency shelters and transitional housing, or “unsheltered.”

That’s 156 people less than the homeless population in 2023.

The strategies

Denver is on track to spend $155 million on its "housing first" approach — $65 million more than what Johnston said would cost from 2023 to 2024.

Since Johnston took office in July last year, 1,872 homeless people have been moved to shelters, according to a city dashboard that tracks numbers.

The 12% growth in the total number of homeless people from year to year and the relatively small reduction in the "unsheltered" population puzzled at least one councilmember and led another to accuse the Johnston administration of having a "spend first, ask questions later mindset."

Johnston's overriding approach to the city’s homelessness crisis is called “housing first,” in which the primary consideration is getting people off the streets without preconditions or requirements. Under Johnston's model, the city sweeps encampments and moves people into temporary shelters.

Despite the rise in homelessness, the mayor's office insisted that Denver saw one of the most significant reductions in "unsheltered" homelessness nationwide. Its gains are on par with Houston — widely regarded as a national leader in tackling homelessness — over six months, the time between when Johnston took office and the point in time count conducted in January.

“The argument that our strategy isn’t working is factually wrong,” spokesperson Jordan Fuja earlier said. “All In Mile High started in July of 2023, and the bulk of move-ins happened in December."

Fuja added: "Houston’s strategy and Denver’s strategy are markedly different due to the stark differences in cost of living, available housing, and general space."

Meanwhile, Aurora leaders opted for a "tough love" approach. Under this model, homeless people are given the opportunity to accept services, including treatment, while officials enforce a policy akin to "zero tolerance" for people who refuse help.

The key element of that approach — the building of a navigation center — is still in the works. By comparison, Denver's strategy is in full swing.

Aurora Mayor Mike Coffman told The Denver Gazette he didn't expect a significant decline in homelessness, considering that the city's "tough lough" model has yet to materialize.

"I don't really expect a decline in the aggregate number," Coffman said. "What I want to see is a drop in unsheltered, and an increase in shelter — meaning that people are participating in initial recovery and mental health treatment, job training, but in a sheltered environment."

When asked why Aurora's homeless population increased this year, Coffman pointed to increasing levels of fentanyl use.

"Unfortunately, we have a drug epidemic," he said.

Coffman said Aurora's approach will take time to come to fruition, predicting that homelessness numbers will decrease over the next two years.

Aurora's councilmembers last month voted to move forward with plans for a 13-acre "navigation center" they hope would make a significant dent in the city's campaign to get people out of homelessness. The city plans to open the center in early 2025.

Officials said the navigation center will offer a variety of services, including transitional housing, employment services, workforce development, emergency shelter, a medical clinic, addiction counseling, mental health services, medical respite beds, housing navigation, case management and meals, according to a news release.

The campus will have three tiers, the first of which will be a "low-barrier" shelter with congregate housing for people who need services but aren’t working with case managers yet. The second tier will require people to work part time, including jobs in and around the facility, and participation in programs for addiction and mental health recovery and job training. The second tier will have “materially better” living conditions, Coffman said.

People in the third tier will have “even better” living conditions, including a private room.

Colorado Springs's approach to homelessness is to prevent and respond to homelessness through evidence-based interventions designed to respond to the needs of people experiencing homelessness, according to city officials.

Mayor Yemi Mobolade's office said the city is creating initiatives under a response plan, in which support services, preventive measures and more affordable housing are among the priorities.

The city has asked for feedback for its homelessness plan and collected responses.

What is concerning is that the number of homeless families increased by 12% in this year’s count, with 48 more people who are part of a family unit saying they were homeless, said Katie Sunderlin, the city’s acting chief housing officer.

Meanwhile, Douglas County — sandwiched in between Denver and Colorado Springs — saw a 86% drop in unsheltered homelessness in two years based on its own separate count. Douglas County's unsheltered homeless count dropped from 43 to six in two years, according to the the county's data.

Douglas County officials have adopted the mantra that "handouts don't help." The county routinely warns residents, for example, against giving money to homeless people on roadways or sidewalks. Instead, the county urges residents to donate that money to deploy outreach teams to help homeless people.

A temporary solution?

The increase in Metro Denver's homeless population revived questions about the root cause of the crisis. Advocates have long pointed to familiar themes — affordable housing, drug addiction or lack of employment.

A Colorado Coalition for the Homeless official insisted the cost of housing is driving the increase.

"Once you are evicted, it’s really hard to be able to find a new home. A lot of people are becoming chronically homelessness because it’s taking longer and longer to find affordable housing options," Cathy Alderman, chief communications and public policy officer for coalition, said in a previous interview.

Amy Beck, an advocate, called Denver’s strategy “a really orchestrated effort where they sweep people towards the city borders and into neighboring cities, and then those cities, in turn, put people back on the light rail and send them back to Denver.”

Beck also doubted the validity of the point in time count.

“I just think that the point in time count that was done this past January isn't truly reflective of the situation,” Beck said.

“We've always excluded people that are couch surfing. Sometimes, we exclude people in cars or RVs or campers,” she said. “To me, the data just isn't valid because it's only done once a year. They're just really unreliable numbers.”

Beck suggested a month-to-month report on homelessness, instead of depending on one count a year.

Craig Arfsten, founder of nonprofit Citizens for a Safe and Clean Denver, said he has noticed a decrease in downtown homeless encampments but he added that the policy has, in effect, drawn homeless people to encampments.

“They're taking camps and putting them straight into housing, and people are desperate to be the chosen camp,” he said.

Beck agreed that Johnston’s efforts have pushed homeless communities to the outskirts or other cities, based on what she believes has been an "enforcement-based" effort.

“It's good that he opened the hotels as shelters,” Beck said of Johnston. “He needed to do that because so many people were hitting the streets. But this problem had so much momentum already when he took office.”

“The problem is not housing,” Artfsten said, calling on Johnston to recognize long-term solutions, such as investment in treatment and rehabilitation, and not “a temporary quick fix that costs a lot of money.”

Arsten insisted that the root causes of homelessness are mental health and drug addiction.

“If he lays the foundation for Denver being a recovery city, or Colorado being a recovery state ... home run," he said. "But he's not doing that.”

Reporters Debbie Kelley, Alex Edwards and Kyla Pearce contributed to this story.