Douglas County hires homeless engagement resource team

In Douglas County, there's an ongoing effort to address homelessness in the area. Not everyone agrees on what should happen next.

A point-in-time count completed earlier this summer across the county found 90 people experiencing homelessness with a majority of those people in Highlands Ranch.

In a count conducted by the Douglas County School District, there were 45 kids living in shelters or completely unhoused and another 345 at risk of becoming homeless.

The county's Homeless Engagement, Assistance and Resource Team, or HEART, is currently being hired and trained. That team will work with law enforcement to address the needs of the community.

The county wants to put up signs as it launches a communication campaign to discourage panhandling and instead get that funding and people connected with the HEART team.

"I want to know accountability, who's going to be responsible for all these funds that are coming in. Where they're going, who they're going to," said Douglas County resident Sherry Hillman.

The county does need to connect with municipalities about sign codes before they're put up as well as obtain some regional permissions from groups like the Colorado Department of Transportation and RTD.