City officials, homeless advocates disagree over Denver’s homeless count
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DENVER — Unsheltered homelessness in the Denver metro region has decreased more than 25% — from 2,919 to 2,149 — according to the 2025 Point in Time count, a method of measuring homelessness in and around the city.
Large cities across the United States measure unhoused populations through a Point in Time count, which involves dividing a region into zones and tallying the number of people sleeping outdoors — in tents, vehicles or on the streets — as well as those staying in temporary shelters, all within a 24-hour period.
The Metro Denver Homelessness Initiative deploys a team of staff and volunteers to conduct the count in the Denver metro from 4 a.m. on Jan. 27 to 4 a.m. Jan. 28 each year. Counters place dots on a map that connects to a geographic information system, and MDHI uses that map to measure its success in addressing homelessness.
“We’ve really led the nation in terms of investing in homeless response and addressing this,” said Cole Chandler, senior advisor on homelessness in the Denver Mayor’s Office.
Chandler applauded Denver Mayor Mike Johnston’s promise to end homelessness in the city and what Chandler sees as his delivery on the promise. The city’s homelessness dashboard shows 7,003 people who were formerly on the streets that moved into shelters since July 2023. The dashboard claims 5,597 have moved into housing.
“If you think back to the way that this was handled under the prior administration, where there were literal sweeps conducted every single day with police throwing people’s stuff away and moving them across the street with nothing for them, we don't do that,” Chandler said. “We bring people indoors and we do that every single day through a coordinated strategy that connects people on the streets to the indoor sheltering options that we have brought forward during this administration.”
Ana Miller, an organizer with Housekeys Action Network Denver, an organization that advocates for people experiencing homelessness, said the PIT numbers don’t reflect the reality of those experiencing homelessness.
“The reason that unsheltered homelessness looks so low is because of the fact that law enforcement has been increased to such a point that we can't count people because they’re hiding and they’re moving around and they don’t even have the opportunity to sit down, and that's a problem,” Miller said.
Police records published by Housekeys Action Network show the Denver Police Department issued nearly 700 citations for trespassing and camping, the two most common citations issued to people experiencing homelessness, from January through March 2023. Those same three months in 2024 showed just over 1,000 enforcement actions, an almost 47% increase.
“You can walk through 16th Street Mall on any day and see cops harassing people just sitting outside,” Miller said. “The moment people try to put a tent down, here comes some kind of enforcement group telling them they can't do that.”
“I think that [Point In Time] number is ultimately a load of s—t,” Miller added.
Metro Denver Homeless Initiative’s report on the PIT count acknowledges variables like weather, volunteer engagement and capacity that can lead to an undercount of the number of people experiencing homelessness.
While the count showed a reduction in unsheltered homelessness, counters found the number of people staying in temporary shelters increased. Chandler said that number is another mark of the city’s success in getting people off the streets.
After taking office in 2023, Johnston announced his All in Mile High homeless initiative, which aims to bring 2,000 people inside each year and bring another 2,000 into permanent housing.
The mayor’s strategy combines converting hotels into temporary shelters, as well as building micro-communities to house those formerly on the street. Denver’s micro-communities provide tiny homes for people looking for more permanent housing options. The city currently manages three micro-communities, owns three former hotels and leases another three hotels through The Salvation Army.
“Mayor Johnston’s initiatives are saving lives,” said Cathy Alderman, chief communications officer at the Colorado Coalition for the Homeless. “But we still have a huge affordability crisis.”
Alderman said people with lower incomes that aren’t quite low enough to qualify for federal assistance are being squeezed out of resources. Additionally, she said, the city hasn’t built enough affordable housing to transition people from shelters to permanent housing.
“There aren’t enough options for people who are living on very low incomes to move into affordable places because that’s not what we’re investing in,” Alderman said. “We’re such a high-cost housing market, and we don’t have the resources to change that.”
President Donald Trump’s signature budget bill that he signed July 4 expanded the low-income housing tax credit but did not increase funding to the Housing Choice Vouchers program, which Alderman said is vital for those exiting homelessness.
“People that might be housed today but are still living on very low incomes are under a lot of stress,” Alderman said.
Miller said temporary shelters are often unsanitary and residents are surrounded by others experiencing trauma and addiction, which can lead to theft, conflict and even eviction.
“All of this success (Johnston) is trying to tout is the direct opposite of what we’re hearing from people actually on the ground,” Miller said. “All optics and no results.”
Chandler said the conversations he and other city officials have with those in shelters paint a different picture.
“When we talk to people on the streets every single day, all of our shelter sites are still the place the majority of people want to go when given the option,” Chandler said.
Chandler highlighted that Trump’s budget bill makes cuts to Medicaid and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, commonly referred to as food stamps — two programs created to serve lower-income Americans. He said those reductions could hinder the city’s progress in its goal to ultimately end unsheltered homelessness.
“It’s going to be harder and harder to get people connected to resources,” Chandler said. “We do expect we could see a larger influx of homelessness as well, and we’ll have to figure out how to address that with our own budgetary constraints.”
Type of story: News
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources.
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources.
Correction: The lead for this article was updated Monday, July 14 at 3:25 p.m. to clarify that the Point in Time count occurred in the Denver metro area — a seven-county region — not just within the city limits.
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