Volunteers counting the homeless population across Denver metro area, release 2023 findings

Volunteers from multiple agencies and organizations are counting people who are experiencing homelessness. This means they are seeing how many people are homeless in the Denver metro area and why. This is called the Point in Time Survey.  

The Homeless Management Information System is sharing its overall findings from last year while already starting the count for this year. Volunteers from seven counties in our metro including Adams, Arapahoe, Boulder, Broomfield, Denver, Douglas, and Jefferson counties are working from sundown on Monday, January 22nd through sundown on Tuesday, January 23rd.

HMIS says in their count from 2023, they located more than 9,000 people. Out of the more than 9,000 people located, more than 7,200 people stayed outdoors during some point of the year while more than 2,700 on the night of the county. The 2023 report also shows Black and African people make up most of the homeless population at 22%. The Survey also shows that at least 94% of people currently experiencing homelessness did not choose this lifestyle for themselves.

Agencies including Recovery Works, who help people experiencing homelessness and are involved in the county, say this count helps to find exactly where the need is and also helps with federal funding.

"When we have the data that we need, it makes it able for us to be able to provide services," Shantell Anderson said. "We don't want to be underfunded."

As CBS Colorado receives the results from their findings, we will share them.