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- 15,394 people were counted as homeless across the state of Colorado, with estimates of up to 18,851 homeless people in the state who are homeless on any given night.
- 60% are single or two-parent families with children.
- 31% are children or teens
- The newly (first-time) homeless represent 33% of those surveyed.
- 72% of the newly homeless were in households with children.
- Job loss (28%), cost of housing (23%), and relationship/family breakup (20%) are cited as the most frequent reasons for homelessness.
- 91% were temporarily or episodically homeless, people who had a life-changing event that left them without a home
- Slightly more than half of Colorado’s homeless population is in the Denver Metropolitan area.
- 11,061 persons are homeless in Metro Denver on any given night.
- 61% are single or two-parent families with children.
- 32% are children or teens
- Job loss (34%), cost of housing (31.2%) are the most frequently given reasons for homelessness.
- More than 10,000 persons are homeless on any given night in the 56 non-metropolitan and rural communities in Colorado.
- Over half of the homeless are persons in families with children.
- The primary causes of homelessness include poverty, lack of affordable housing, lack of jobs that pay a living wage, substance abuse, mental illness and chronic health problems.
- Temporary workers with low wage, seasonal jobs in Colorado’s resort communities and agricultural areas often experience homelessness due to a lack of affordable, safe, sanitary rental housing.
- Higher rates of poverty, unemployment and domestic violence
- Inadequate rural housing stock; lack of public transportation; and lack of social service providers.
- Few if any homeless shelters - many rural homeless people stay with friends and relatives or live in their cars, in abandoned buildings, in campgrounds, or on public areas such as national forest and BLM lands.
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