Pamela Marin never imagined losing her home. But after her husband passed away in June 2020, everything seemed to spiral out of control.
Marin, 70, said her doctors diagnosed her with “severe grief” after her husband’s death. Her children began worrying about her health. Then, Marin fell for a romance scam and ended up giving almost all of the $60,000 her husband left her to someone who claimed to be working in the oil and gas industry.
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Colorado is getting older, rapidly. Are we prepared? We’re taking a look at how these shifting demographics are affecting housing, the workforce and quality of life, and whether Colorado has the services needed for people to age in place.
With no money to pay for her home, Marin started couch surfing with friends. After five months, she said her friends stopped offering help because she couldn’t help them pay rent. Then, she lived in her midsize Ford Explorer for about nine months before it gave out on her.
“People don’t understand how hard it is for people when they don’t intentionally lose their house,” Marin told The Colorado Sun. “It’s circumstances that usually are beyond their control.”
Marin is one of thousands of Colorado seniors who have lost their homes over the last few years. The number of people ages 65 and older who are accessing homeless services in metro Denver has increased by about 15% to 1,902 in 2024 from 1,643 in 2023, according to data from the Metro Denver Homeless Initiative, or MDHI. By comparison, federal data shows more than 42,000 seniors were homeless in 2024, up 6.1% from the previous year.
The increase comes at a time when Colorado’s population is rapidly aging. Colorado has the third-fastest aging population in America, according to data from the state demographer’s office. The state’s 65-and-older population increased by 58.1% to more than 319,000 people between 2013 and 2023, compared with the national average of 39%.
Seniors often face homelessness for the same reasons as the general population, according to the Colorado Coalition for the Homeless. Those include a lack of affordable housing, poor health, and too few resources to help them once they lose their home. However, seniors also face age-specific challenges like a lack of senior care options and the rising cost of medical care.
“As Coloradans live longer, stable and affordable housing has never been more important,” Jason Johnson, MDHI’s executive director, told The Sun.
A statewide dilemma
Senior homelessness is not just an issue impacting metro Denver.
According to MDHI’s first-ever statewide State of Homelessness report, there are more than 3,100 people aged 65 and older who accessed homeless services in 2024.
The report was the first to connect data points from all four of Colorado’s Continuum of Care organizations to provide a snapshot of homelessness statewide. COCs are nonprofits that coordinate federal homelessness resolution programs at the local level.
The seven-county metro Denver area had the most seniors accessing homeless services by far, with more than 1,900 in 2024. However, the Pikes Peak COC and the Balance of State COC recorded higher rates of senior homelessness than metro Denver last year.
About 6.1% of people accessing homeless services in the Pikes Peak COC — which covers El Paso County — were over the age of 65, representing 417 people in all, according to the report. The Balance of State COC — which covers 54 counties in all — had 584 people ages 65 and older accessing homeless services, accounting for 7.1% of the total people served.
Johnson explains that there are several intersecting issues that are contributing to the growth of senior homelessness across Colorado.
“Many are just one rent increase or medical bill away from losing their home,” Johnson said. “At the same time, there’s a major shortage of affordable assisted living, nursing facilities and long-term care options, leaving many seniors without the support they need to stay housed.”
Nowhere to go
Marin’s journey also illustrates a less-discussed issue that some seniors facing homelessness must overcome. There is an expectation that an individual’s children will care for them when they’re old. But Marin says that isn’t always the case.
The death of Marin’s husband was like a trauma bomb for her family. Marin said she and her children were “very close” before her husband died. “We got together all the time,” she explained.
But Marin said her children rejected her after she told them about the romance scam. She said they called her “cuckoo and crazy” for being scammed, and one of her sons blamed her for the episode. Marin said her pet Chihuahua, named Patron, also posed an issue, as her children worried he wouldn’t get along with other dogs in the family.
“I was hurt. I was stunned,” Marin said about being rejected by her children. “It just shocked me, because I thought I taught them better, that you are supposed to give of yourself in order to see the world improve.”
Still, Marin considers herself one of the lucky ones. After living in her car, she was given a bed at the Volunteers of America shelter before connecting with The Delores Project, a nonprofit that provides shelter and services for women, transgender, and nonbinary individuals.
Marin now lives in a tiny home at the Colorado Village Collaborative’s Monroe Village. She said the tiny home has given her the stability she needs to continue taking classes at The Delores Project. Her favorite is called the Peace Education Program, a workshop designed to help people develop healthy life skills.
Marin added that her relationship with her children has also started to improve. This past Mother’s Day was the first time in five years that she saw her children, she said. Her youngest daughter also recently moved back to Denver and reached out to say she wants to improve their relationship. That gives Marin a chance to meet her 4-year-old great-grandchild for the first time.
Unsteady future
Experts worry that journeys like Marin’s may become rarer in the years ahead.
“Without intentional action, we’ll continue to see more seniors pushed into homelessness in the years ahead,” Johnson said.
President Donald Trump’s administration wants to dramatically reshape the homeless services landscape by introducing new requirements to receive funding. For instance, the Department of Housing and Urban Development has attempted to institute requirements that grant awardees cannot promote diversity, equity and inclusion policies. The agency has also sought to cap the amount of money local entities can spend on permanent supportive housing at just 30% of their total award.
So far, these efforts have been stopped by the courts.
Ann Oliva, CEO of the National Alliance to End Homelessness, described the efforts as an “indefensible betrayal of HUD’s mission.”
“Instead of helping communities end homelessness, HUD is actively fueling its growth with these decisions,” Oliva said in a statement. “As a former senior HUD staffer, I can honestly say that I don’t know what HUD is doing, and I don’t think they do either.”
The administration’s cuts to Medicaid could also cause more seniors to become homeless in the future. About 27% of Coloradans in senior living facilities rely on Medicaid, according to the National Council for Assisted Living. Without that funding, many would not be able to afford their living expenses.
Despite these headwinds, there are several local organizations working to provide more housing for seniors who are homeless. Churches like the Church of All Saints on Federal Boulevard have built income-restricted apartments for seniors on their land. Our Savior’s Lutheran Church in Denver has submitted concept plans for a similar development on its land.
Private developers like MGL Partners have also worked to build more income-restricted units for seniors. The company recently completed the St. Stephen Senior Apartments in Denver, a 50-unit development that’s affordable for seniors whose annual income ranges from $29,000 to $59,000.
While this work continues, Marin said there isn’t enough help for seniors who are homeless today.
“I don’t want to be here, but without having connections to the right people in the right places, you can’t get that,” she said. “The Dolores Project and Colorado Coalition and all of them are trying to do that, but the homelessness is so large, there’s just not enough people to help.”