Data: Chronic homelessness up in El Paso County, but so is the use of homeless resources
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO)- The chronic homeless population in El Paso County has grown significantly in the last year and a half. But according to the most recent PIT (point in time) survey done by the Pikes Peak Continuum of Care (PPCoC), more and more of the homeless are using the resources that are being offered in the area.
The PPCoC is required to do a count every year of homeless people in the area. It's normally done in January, but because of a COVID-19 surge, it was done in February of 2022.
On one of the coldest nights of the year, with snow and single-digit temperatures in the forecast, the homeless in El Paso County flocked to the shelters.
"What we've seen is that our homeless population is still rising in our community," Evan Caster with the Pikes Peak Community Health Partnership said.
On that night in February, 1,176 people stayed in area shelters or temporary housing.
"We have seen a switch where people staying in emergency shelters has increased."
Based on the count, just 267 people were found spending the night in a car or out in the streets. That figure is the lowest unsheltered count since 2015.
Caster says this means the homeless are beginning to realize the resources our community is willing to give.
"We are seeing that people are trying to figure out where you can access services safely in our community."
Caster adds that the majority of the people who are living on the streets are actually our neighbors. Not from out of state or even out of the county.
396 people were labeled as 'chronically homeless', which is categorized as people living 12 or more consecutive months without a home. That figure is as high as it's been since at least 2009.
There could be a multitude of reasons for that, Caster says. People are possibly priced out of the area, or maybe even choosing to live on the streets.
"It's really important to recognize that homelessness is so individualized. So it can matter so much if it's circumstantial if it's generational poverty, and all those pieces come together in a myriad of ways.
