COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KKTV) -A newly released report shows fewer people were experiencing homelessness in the Pikes Peak region during this year’s federally mandated Point-in-Time count.
According to Changeline, the organization that conducts the study, just over 1,400 people were experiencing homelessness in El Paso County during the January count. The count is gathered over a three-day period by staff and volunteers.
Changeline said this year’s total is down from last year. Last year’s report showed an increase in homelessness, with several hundred more people counted compared with 2024. The organization said that increase was due in part to having more volunteers, which helped capture a more accurate picture of homelessness in the region.
Changeline said the same number of volunteers were used for this year’s count as last year’s.
Of the roughly 1,400 people counted this year, nearly 300 were considered chronically homeless, meaning they have been unhoused for an extended period of time and are living with disabling conditions.
BREAKDOWN OF POINT IN TIME NUMBERS FROM PPCOC
SHELTERED UNSHELTERED
EMERGENCYTRANSITIONALSAVE HAVENTOTAL59250493081,413
Changeline said there are factors outside its control that may affect the count. While the total number is down this year, the organization said that may be because more people experiencing homelessness are using available resources, such as staying with friends or accessing shelters.
“Those who are currently navigating these systems are telling us that there is still a strong need for more resources in our community,” said Merrina Mendez with the Homeless Initiative at Changeline. “So we use that in combination with this data to better help understand the struggle in our community, but it is not the only factor that we utilize.”
Changeline emphasized that the Point-in-Time count should not be viewed as the full scope of homelessness in the community, but rather as a snapshot of the issue at a specific moment in time.
The Pikes Peak Continuum of Care partners with Changeline in coordinating more than 100 volunteers, service providers, and housing programs in surveying people in emergency shelters, transitional housing, and unsheltered people living outside.
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