On a frigid January night, hundreds of volunteers walked through city parks, riverside trails, sidewalks and underpasses, trying to get the most accurate count possible of the number of people who are homeless in Colorado.
The tally encompassed thousands of people sleeping in shelters, including emergency cold-weather centers that were activated on the night of the count because of freezing temperatures. And the teams of volunteers included Spanish speakers, crucially important this year because it was the first count that could help determine what happened to the thousands of South American migrants who have moved to Colorado. During last year’s count, 4,300 migrants were living in city-funded hotel rooms, but the city has ended that program.
Colorado will not release the result for months, after the tallies have been reviewed by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Last year’s count, called the Point in Time, found that Colorado saw one of the biggest increases in the nation in the number of families who were homeless in 2024 — a 134% jump from the previous year, according to HUD.
The federal report counted 18,715 who were homeless statewide, including 8,519 families.
This year’s count could shed light on the success of the city of Denver and nonprofit efforts to help migrants move into permanent housing. One of the apartment complexes that housed many migrants is being shut down by the city of Aurora this month because of mismanagement and poor conditions, leaving residents scrambling to find other options.
The count includes all 64 counties, broken into four regions — the seven-county Denver metro area, a two-county northern Colorado region, El Paso County, and the 54 counties that make up the balance of the state.
Nonprofits and volunteers tried to count every person who was living outside or in tents, vehicles, motels or shelters on Jan. 28. In the Denver area, workers spent the rest of the week asking people who are homeless to take surveys, hoping to glean information about how long people have been homeless, if they are veterans, if they grew up in the child welfare system and whether they have any physical or mental health issues. The survey also asks about domestic violence and substance abuse.
While homelessness has been rising, results of the survey can vary widely from year to year because of weather. Because temperatures dipped into the 20s on the night of the count, organizers expect this year will show a higher number of people in shelters than is reality.
“The Point in Time is really dependent on various factors,” said Kyla Moe, deputy director of the Metro Denver Homeless Initiative, which organizes the count. “It was colder this year and we had temporary weather shelters.”
Moe ties the increase in homelessness in the metro area to “soaring housing costs” and the “ongoing impact of inflation” that has made it harder for families to afford basic necessities, including housing.
The “balance of the state” count, which includes the Eastern Plains, mountain counties, southern Colorado and northwestern Colorado, takes about 120 volunteers to accomplish, according to the Colorado Department of Local Affairs, which manages the count. In odd years, including this one, volunteers try to count everyone who is sheltered and unsheltered. In even years, the count is focused on people who are in shelters.
Volunteers from organizations including Advocates of Lake County in Leadville and La Puente in Alamosa helped with the count. Last year’s “balance of the state” counted 1,053 people in shelters, including motel rooms paid for by nonprofits. In 2023, volunteers counted 2,210 people living in shelters, vehicles and outside, including in abandoned buildings and campgrounds.
The count helps guide “data-driven decisions” to help get more people into housing, DOLA spokeswoman Shannon Gray said.
