For nearly two years, a response team traveled throughout Douglas County, contacting homeless people – often more than once – to build trust and offer assistance.
Now the county claims it has “effectively ended homelessness” and attributes its success to the assistance program and other efforts.
Authorities “are pleased to announce that we have virtually ended homelessness in Douglas County,” said County Commissioner Abe Laydon, noting that authorities counted only six people sleeping outside on any one night this summer. “That’s as close to virtually zero as we can get.”
Earlier this year, a count identified 80 homeless people – both sheltered and unhoused – in Douglas County.
A more comprehensive picture of homelessness data paints a more complicated picture for a number of reasons. The data cited by the commissioner comes from a snapshot in time, a measure that can fluctuate significantly from year to year. In Douglas, where the number of homeless people is often much lower than other counties, the traditional count for the metropolitan area and Douglas’ summer data tell a different picture. The same is true for the more general number of people in the county seeking homeless services.
Across the Denver metropolitan area, there are no clear signs that homelessness is declining. One indicator shows it is actually increasing. This year’s seven-county daily count found that homelessness increased 10% from last year — from about 9,100 to nearly 10,000. This is largely due to a 12% increase in homeless shelters.
While this is only a snapshot, a more comprehensive count of people seeking homelessness-related services or housing suggests the number of homeless people in the region could rise to nearly 30,000 over the course of the year, according to the Metro Denver Homeless Initiative.
“Behind every data point lies the reality of individuals and families facing the hardship of homelessness,” Rebecca Mayer, interim director at MDHI, said in a statement. “It’s important to remember that our homeless neighbors deserve the stability and security of a safe place to call home.”
Here’s a closer look at homelessness in Douglas County and regional trends.
Data Douglas advertises
Each year, the Denver area, including Douglas County, participates in the Point in Time homeless count, an effort that helps raise housing funds.
The Metro Denver initiative was commissioned by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to organize the count in January, according to the initiative’s website.
On the other hand, the data that Douglas County authorities announced at a press conference on August 16, at which Laydon also spoke, comes from a July 29 snapshot that the county conducted over the summer.
Highlights of the county’s summer data include:
• The number of people sleeping outdoors fell from 43 in 2022 to six in 2024
• The counts showed a 50% decrease in the number of people living in vehicles (from 43 to 21) and the number of people sleeping outdoors (from 11 to 6) since summer 2023.
The number of people registered as homeless but housed – including those who spent the night in a motel, transitional housing unit or shelter for victims of domestic violence paid for by a nonprofit organization – has increased from 33 in the summer of 2022 to 42 this summer.
A total of 69 people were counted this summer, compared to 96 in summer 2022.
Because the total number of homeless people in the county is so small, large fluctuations in the percentage are not uncommon. And in some situations, homeless people wander around.
“Many of the people we encounter are transients – they are moving through Douglas County,” Sheriff Darren Weekly said at the press conference.
Rand Clark, Douglas’s director of community services, said the number of homeless people in the county can fluctuate widely.
“For a family of four, the numbers fluctuate,” Clark said.
Regional image
Typically, teams from nonprofits and local agencies conduct the Point-in-Time Count in January in communities in the Denver area and across the country.
“While the point-in-time count is helpful in assessing the extent of homelessness, raising public awareness, promoting regional collaboration and developing data-driven strategies, it is important to remember that it is not the only factor in determining whether government funding is awarded,” said Kyla Moe, deputy director of the Metro Denver Initiative.
Since the count generally takes place in a single night and can be affected by weather or other variables, Metro Denver advises against looking at year-to-year data trends, although the number remains a frequently cited statistic.
This year’s count took place from sunset on January 22 to sunset on January 23 in Adams, Arapahoe, Boulder, Broomfield, Denver, Douglas and Jefferson counties.
The count found that nearly 10,000 people are homeless, including about 6,500 in Denver and 80 in Douglas County.
That’s an increase from about 9,100 total in 2023, including about 5,800 in Denver and 72 in Douglas.
(The new arrivals who were housed in temporary migrant-only shelters are not included in the Metro Denver Point in Time report, according to the organization. The term “new arrivals” refers to migrants.)
A broader count
Aside from the Point-in-Time report, you can get a more comprehensive count of homelessness from organizations involved in what’s called the Homeless Management Information System.
About 80% of homeless service providers, including nonprofits and other organizations that serve the homeless, in the seven-county metropolitan area use the system, Moe said.
According to Metro Denver, between July 1, 2020, and June 30, 2021, more than 32,000 people in the metropolitan area received services or housing assistance related to homelessness.
This number was approximately 28,000 people between July 1, 2021 and June 30, 2022.
Between July 1, 2022 and June 30, 2023, the number was approximately 30,400. Of these, 182 people used services in Douglas County during the same period.
Clark, the community services director, said Douglas worked with 215 people through HMIS in the first six months of this year.
Not all people in need of housing stay in Douglas for long, Clark said.
Some “want to come through town and get their car repaired,” Clark said.
What are the causes of homelessness?
There are many causes of homelessness, according to Metro Denver’s State of Homelessness 2023–24 report, a document with point-in-time figures.
“Sometimes there is no single cause, but several contributing factors,” the report says.
“Our largest source of data shows that relationship problems or family breakdown are the leading cause or factor in homelessness. Combined with rising rents and low wages, it is becoming increasingly difficult for people to find stable housing in one of the most expensive metropolitan areas in the country,” the report said. “Lack of support, domestic violence, difficulty finding work, and mental health or substance abuse issues also contribute.”
Get personal
Douglas County’s Homeless Engagement, Assistance and Resource Team (HEART), the agency Laydon praised at the press conference, often provides personal care to homeless people.
“The really exciting news is that the HEART team knows them by name. It’s not just numbers. They really make a point of getting to know these individuals,” Laydon said.
And despite unclear trends in Douglas County homelessness data, HEART has success stories.
“If we encounter someone who is not interested in services, we stick with them. Many of these individuals have experienced trauma in their past – it could be related to the police,” said Tiffany Marsitto, who served as a supervisor at HEART, explaining the team’s interactions.
“Even if it’s just a small thing, like helping someone get an ID, it makes them feel empowered,” she added.
In the past, Marsitto shared the HEART success story of a man who was begging – he said he had been homeless for over 40 years. The man said some of his belongings had been stolen, Marsitto said.
The team “was able to help him apply for food stamps (assistance) and health insurance right there and then,” Marisitto said.
At a follow-up meeting, the man said he had a potential job opportunity out of state.
Greg Matthews, a HEART staff member, reached out to one of the team’s religious partners, who purchased a Greyhound bus ticket to take the man to his destination.
“The religious partner also put him up in a hotel the night before he left so he would have a warm place to stay and a shower so he could … go to work,” Marsitto said.
One veteran HEART worked with received housing last month, Clark said.
HEART team members are working with law enforcement and the team began operations in mid-September 2022.
To contact a HEART member, you can call 303-660-7301.
Funding for Aurora Campus for the Homeless
The discussions about accommodation in the district were controversial.
A county spokesman said there are no special shelters for the homeless in Douglas County other than shelters for victims of domestic violence.
However, the county is working to provide accommodations through partnerships with churches and communities – including Aurora and Colorado Springs – and by issuing motel or hotel vouchers, the spokesman said.
Laydon pointed to the county’s efforts to fund assistance in Aurora.
Douglas has contributed about $1.1 million to the upcoming Aurora Regional Navigation Campus – a facility that serves the homeless – providing Douglas with five beds to provide housing for homeless people the county encounters.
In addition to accommodation, the campus will also offer “comprehensive services” such as psychological counseling, job search assistance and assistance for people with substance use disorders, according to the district.
