The Pikes Peak Continuum of Care (PPCoC) reported a 34 percent increase in the number of people experiencing homelessness in El Paso County compared with the previous year. The report's authors call it "the highest number of shelter (sic) and unsheltered ever surveyed during a Point In Time in El Paso County."
To come up with this report, more than 100 surveyors hit the streets for a single night in January to count people experiencing homelessness.
The count found 1,745 people experiencing homelessness on the night of January 26, 2025. Nearly a third of that group was unsheltered, meaning they were living outside, in abandoned buildings, or in a car. The rest were in emergency shelters or transitional housing on the night of the count.
PPCoC said the numbers are not a reliable indication of increases or decreases in homelessness over time. The report is just a snapshot in time, and is heavily influenced by external factors like the number of volunteers and the weather on the night of the survey.
“PIT results are widely understood to be an undercount due to challenges reaching key populations, such as victims fleeing domestic violence, people living in vehicles, and homeless youth,” the PPCoC Point in Time report said.
The night of the 2025 count was cold, with a low of 9 degrees in Colorado Springs. Relatively cold nights can skew numbers, because many folks will find shelter those nights.
But also, PPCoC said the 2025 count had the most volunteers ever, which can increase the likelihood of getting a more complete count. PPCoC said that's reflected in this year's higher numbers.
Over a third of unhoused people accounted for in the report had been experiencing homelessness for over a year. The majority of those experiencing chronic homelessness were unsheltered at the time of the count. Not a single person who was experiencing chronic homelessness was living in transitional housing.
PPCoC reports that the county needs 518 more beds to shelter every person reported for the night of the count.
1 in 10 unhoused people that night were veterans.
Other data showed there were 245 unhoused children that night as well. PPCoC says children are typically a significantly under-reported demographic, due to concerns from parents that admitting they're unhoused may alert child advocacy agencies and they may lose custody of their children.
In a statement following release of the data, Colorado Springs Mayor Yemi Mobolade said the city will use the information to help create solutions for the city.
“Homelessness is a complex challenge, but Colorado Springs is not standing still,” Mobolade said.
He said the city is working to increase transitional housing, expand outreach efforts downtown, target enforcement where needed, and foster strong community partnerships across the community.
“With data in hand and a shared purpose at heart, I believe we can move closer to a city where homelessness is rare, brief, and nonrecurring,” Mobolade.
The new report is the first area Point in Time data available since a survey across the state suggested numbers are higher than typically estimated.
