The overall number of homeless people in Denver increased over the past year, but fewer people were sleeping outside when an annual census was conducted, according to the Metro Denver Homeless Initiative’s point-in-time count released Monday.
The snapshot report, which reflects how many people were homeless on a single night in January, shows that overall homelessness increased 12% over the 2024 count. But unsheltered homelessness — meaning people who are sleeping in tents or on the street — decreased 38%.
“We’re thrilled that unsheltered homelessness, which has been our North Star as an administration, is at its lowest point since January of 2019,” said Cole Chandler, the deputy director of Mayor Mike Johnston’s city homelessness initiative.
A Denver-produced analysis of other cities’ point-in-time counts suggests the decline is the greatest multiyear reduction in unsheltered homelessness in U.S. history, Chandler said. Since the January 2023 count, which found 1,423 people living on the city’s streets, the unsheltered count has decreased 45%.
During the 2024 point-in-time count, 1,273 people were unsheltered. In January, there were just 785 counted in the city. That’s fewer than any other city that has reported in its point-in-time data, Chandler said.
In its new report, the MDHI counted 7,327 total people who were homeless in Denver this year, according to the data. Last year it was 6,539, making for a 12% increase, showing the continuing impact of the housing affordability challenge.
The group also complies data for the seven-county metro. There were 10,774 homeless people total across those counties this year, according to the data, up from 9,997, up nearly 8%. That followed a 10% increase reported last year.
Under Johnston, who ran on addressing homelessness in Denver in the 2023 election, Denver — which deals with the bulk of the homelessness challenge — has added about 1,000 shelter beds, bringing the total count to about 3,000. It has opened several former hotels as shelters and added a handful of tiny home micro-communities. The city doesn’t plan on expanding its shelter bed capacity further, Chandler said.
Instead, officials will work on getting more people into permanent housing, he said.
“We’re at the point in our strategy where we’re really focused on how do we get those folks … into permanent housing?” Chandler said.
That could be a difficult task if the city loses federal housing vouchers, which helps house low-income individuals and families, as the Trump Administration is proposing cuts to the program. The state and city are also facing budget crunches.
The city will likely rely heavily on its rapid-rehousing program to pursue that goal.
Johnston announced mandatory furloughs for city employees last month and said there will be layoffs and budget cuts coming soon. He added that while his All In Mile High homelessness initiative will face cuts, they’re likely to be less substantial than for other programs.
“I don’t think we will see a major challenge in terms of our homelessness system this year,” Chandler said. “Looking forward, it’s really about: How do we establish efficiencies and make sure we have the best structure for long term?”
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“Denver is proving that homelessness is solvable so long as we are willing to put in the work to solve it,” Johnston said in a news release Monday. “In less than two years we have gone from a city that swept people from block to block to one that treats people with dignity and delivers real results. This policy is not only morally just but effective.”
In releasing its report, the MDHI says the rate that homelessness is growing appears to be slowing. There are also fewer “newly homeless” individuals, according to a news release from the organization.
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development requires that cities conduct the point-in-time count each year.
This is a developing story and may be updated.
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