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Pikes Peak Continuum of Care

2017 Point-In-Time and

Housing Inventory Report Annual Point-In-Time and Housing Inventory Count

Prepared by

Pikes Peak United Way City of Colorado Springs

August 2017

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Table of Contents

Executive Summary 5

What is a Continuum of Care? 6

Methodology 6

El Paso County Camp Survey Locations 7

Methodology Continued 8

General Census Information 10

Acronyms 11

Overall – HUD Count 12

Sheltered – HUD Count 13

Unsheltered – HUD Count 14

Ages – HUD Count 15

Ethnicity/Race – HUD Count 16

Gender – HUD Count 17

Parenting Youth-Only Households – HUD Count 18

Unaccompanied Youth-Only Households – HUD Count 19

Youth-Only Ethnicity/Race – HUD Count 20

Chronic Homeless – HUD Count 21

Chronic Homeless Veteran – HUD Count 22

Disabling Conditions – Sheltered Chronic Homeless – HUD Count 23

Disabling Conditions – Unsheltered Chronic Homeless – HUD Count 24

Domestic Violence – Chronic Homeless – HUD Count 25

Last Known Permanent Address – HUD Count 26

Households and Total Persons– Community Count 27

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By Program Type – Community Count 28

Ethnicity/Race – Community Count 29

Gender – Community Count 30

Veterans – Community Count 31

School District Data by Grade 32

School District Data by Housing Situation 33

Housing Inventory Count 34

Bed Count and Occupancy Rate - Total 35

Bed Inventory - Emergency Shelters 36

Bed Count and Occupancy Rate - Emergency Shelters 37

Bed Inventory - Transitional Housing 38

Bed Count and Occupancy Rate – Transitional Housing 39

Bed Inventory - Permanent Housing 40

Bed Count and Occupancy Rate - Permanent Housing 41

Bed Inventory - Rapid Re-Housing 42

Point-In-Time Count Summary 43

Housing Inventory Count Summary 44

References 45

Point-In-Time Comparisons 45

Housing Inventory Count Comparisons 46

Acknowledgements 47

Questions and Contact Information 47

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Executive Summary This report presents the results of the 2017 annual Point-In-Time (PIT) count of people experiencing homelessness in the Colorado Springs/El Paso County area and the Housing Inventory Count (HIC) of dedicated beds available to serve them. Data from previous Point-In-Time and Housing Inventory Counts are included as far back to 2013 for a comparative analysis. As a community that receives funding from the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) for shelter, housing, and other supportive services for the homeless, the Pikes Peak Continuum of Care (PPCoC) is required to carry out an annual census of its residents experiencing homelessness. There are a few noteworthy highlights and mitigating factors to mention before getting to the numbers.

● This report covers the required HUD PIT count which encompasses people in emergency shelters and transitional housing as well as people who are unsheltered. It also covers additional categories in our Community PIT count, including people in permanent supportive housing, as well as those in rapid re-housing and homeless prevention programs. This provides a broader picture of the people served or needing to be served by the PPCoC.

● Outreach efforts continue to expand each year and 2017 was no exception. The addition of skilled volunteers enabled us to cast a wider net, in addition to the traditional survey-taking at service provider locations. The data suggests that the result has been a more complete count of our unsheltered population than we have achieved in past years.

● The expansion of the low barrier winter shelter beds (from 42 to 187) provided an option for people who would otherwise have been outside. The report covers some of the results from this effort.

● Data collected through the paper surveys is entirely voluntary and self-declared. This can impact areas such as the determination of chronic homelessness, disabling conditions, gender identity, age, race, and ethnicity. We mitigate this impact through training and having trusted outreach workers engage where needed.

The take-away ● Homelessness is rising, as is the number of emergency beds and temporary housing resources

created by our community of service providers. Local service providers are containing a crisis. We ask our neighbors and community leaders to help us end homelessness with holistic solutions.

● The number of households with children experiencing homelessness is rising. The number of young parents (18-24) and their dependents are rising in our shelters, as is number of unaccompanied youth on the streets.

● Homelessness disparately affects communities of color. The share of Black, Native, and multiracial homeless people is nearly double their share of the general population of El Paso County.

● We are getting better at counting, assessing, and serving our homeless population, but finding appropriate housing solutions is the next challenge.

We ask our neighbors and community leaders to help us end homelessness with holistic solutions.

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What is a Continuum of Care? Per HUD definition, the Continuum of Care (CoC) Program is designed to promote community-wide commitment to the goal of preventing and ending homelessness; provide funding for efforts by nonprofit providers and local governments to quickly rehouse homeless individuals and families while minimizing the trauma and dislocation caused to homeless individuals, families, and communities by homelessness; promote access to and effective utilization of mainstream programs by homeless individuals and families; and optimize self-sufficiency among individuals and families experiencing homelessness. The Pikes Peak County Continuum of Care (PPCoC) covers the communities within El Paso County. El Paso County, with a population of just over 655,000 (2015 American Community Survey estimate), lies in east central Colorado and encompasses more than 2,158 square miles - slightly more than twice the area of the state of Rhode Island. The majority (67%) of the County’s population resides in Colorado Springs (pop. 442,040), making it a heavily urban county. The homeless population is more concentrated in Colorado Springs where higher concentrations of agencies offering services to help are also located. The western, “live off the land” ideology is not uncommon, especially in the more nature refuges of the city, which allows a perception from some that they had shelter in a “home” on the night of the PIT when the perception of HUD is that a tent or shed with no electricity or running water is not a “home.”

While we discuss numbers, percentages, statistics, we fully embrace that these words represent people, citizens, neighbors.

Our community.

Methodology Every year during the last 10 days of January, the Pikes Peak CoC conducts a Point-In-Time (PIT) count of all people in emergency shelters and transitional housing projects, plus those who are considered unsheltered. HUD requires a census of this population, which we refer to as the HUD Count in this document. However, in order to get a more thorough picture of homelessness, we expand our count to also add people in permanent supportive housing, rapid re-housing, and homeless prevention programs. This additional information comprises what is called a Community Count, which gives a broader picture of the needs and the people being served by the CoC. To complete the picture, this year we have included data from El Paso County school districts, our winter shelter programs, and community conversations we held with clients during the winter months. This year, the count was conducted from sundown on Sunday, January 22nd to sun-up on Monday, January 23rd. The biggest caveat about the Point-In-Time count in any city is the capacity of surveyors to reach all unsheltered residents. In order to count those who are unsheltered, we coordinate teams to go known known campsites to reach the homeless in order to survey them and provide other outreach services. This year, a team of Colorado Springs police officers who make up the Homeless Outreach Team (HOT), service provider staff, volunteers from the Coalition for Compassion and Action (CCA) teamed up to conduct the homeless count on January 23.

The map on the following page shows the locations that the HOT and CCA teams found active campsites and daytime gathering spots. Their reach spans over 13 miles from north to south and almost 9 miles from east to west.

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El Paso County Camp Survey Locations

Homeless Outreach Team (HOT)

Coalition for Compassion and Action (CCA)

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Methodology Continued

The process this year began with a cooperative effort by outreach staff to map known camping and daytime hang-out spots throughout the area. The group also indicated which locations could safely be visited by volunteers and which would be better suited to trained outreach and/or law enforcement staff, as well as best times of day to survey. The information was used to determine how many volunteers were needed in order to assure good coverage. In order to collect the data, PIT forms were distributed to trained provider staff and volunteers, who then conducted interviews with sheltered and unsheltered homeless people. All surveys required the same information to be filled out and submitted. The survey form contained the same information collected in our Client Management System (CMS) which is our local system meeting HUD’s standard for a Homeless Management Information System (HMIS). The interviews were done at service provider locations and camps identified on the map. These were conducted mostly on the day following the designated night (so Monday January 23rd), but extended throughout the week for the outreach crews (always asking where people stayed on the night of the 22nd/23rd). Data for sheltered persons enrolled in programs using CMS was pulled from the system. The few housing providers who do not enter data into CMS provided paper forms with the necessary information. To remove duplicate clients between surveys and CMS data, a comparison of personally identifying information (PII), such as name, date of birth, and Social Security Number was used. There was no statistical adjustment or extrapolation to account for the CoC's entire geography; only actual data collected was used for reporting. The steps taken to obtain the highest quality count of the sheltered and unsheltered homeless population included: a review of HUD guidance and/or trainings on conducting a PIT count; written instructions to providers; written instructions to interviewers; pilot testing of the data collection forms and process prior to the PIT count; training of interviewers on the data collection requirements/forms; training of providers on the data collection requirements/forms; reminders to and follow-up with providers about the count to maximize participation; comparison of the counts to other internal data sources and resolution of inconsistencies; and comparison of the counts to last year’s counts and analysis of the changes.

HUD definition of Homeless An individual or family who lacks a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence, meaning:

1. an individual or family with a primary nighttime residence that is a public or private place not designed for or ordinarily used as a regular sleeping accommodation for human beings, including a car, park, abandoned building, bus or train station, airport, or camping ground; OR

2. an individual or family living in a supervised publicly or privately operated shelter designated to provide temporary living arrangements (including congregate shelters, transitional housing, and hotels and motels paid for by charitable organizations or by federal, state, or local government programs for low income individuals); OR

3. an individual who is exiting an institution where he or she resided for 90 days or less and who resided in an emergency shelter or place not meant for human habitation immediately before entering that institution.

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Methodology Continued At the same time the PPCoC conducts the PIT count, they also conduct a Housing Inventory Count (HIC) of all beds available for people experiencing homelessness in our community. This also examines bed usage and informs the assessment of unmet need. The HIC includes beds in Permanent Housing projects in addition to Emergency Shelters and Transitional Housing projects so the universe for the HUD HIC is different from the universe for the HUD PIT. However, the additional HIC data does inform our community PIT. To ensure the strongest data available was captured, we contact all known agencies providing housing for homeless people to record how many beds they had on the night of January 22nd and how many of those beds were occupied. The number of occupied beds was cross referenced with the CMS database for those agencies participating in CMS.

HUD definition of Chronic Homeless

1. An individual who: a. Is homeless and lives in a place not meant for human habitation, a safe

haven, or in an emergency shelter; AND b. has been homeless and living or residing in a place not meant for human

habitation, a safe haven, or in an emergency shelter continuously for at least one year or on at least four separate occasions in the last 3 years; AND

c. can be diagnosed with one or more of the following conditions: substance use disorder, serious mental illness, developmental disability, post-traumatic stress disorder, cognitive impairments resulting from brain injury, or chronic physical illness or disability; OR

2. An individual who has been residing in an institutional care facility, including a jail,

substance abuse or mental health treatment facility, hospital, or other similar facility, for fewer than 90 days and met all of the criteria in paragraph (a) of this definition before entering that facility; OR

3. A family with an adult head of household (or if there is no adult in the family, a minor head of household) who meets all of the criteria in paragraph (a) of this definition, including a family whose composition has fluctuated while the head of household has been homeless.

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General Census Information Colorado Springs and El Paso County have very similar demographic compositions. For purposes of this section we will compare our 2017 Point-In-Time data to the 2015 American Community Survey estimates for El Paso County.

Gender

● The majority of homeless individuals in El Paso County are male. ● The Census does not include transgender or non-binary options for gender identity. While trans or non-binary individuals comprise less than 1% of the

area’s total homeless population, they make up 3% of homeless youths in El Paso County and Colorado Springs (see pg. 15). ● Out of the 1,055 Households reported in the 2017 PIT:

o 30% had female heads of household; o 10% with children; o 1 children-only household; o 20% adults-only households.

Ethnicity

● Approximately 16% of the population in El Paso County is Hispanic/Latino. Hispanics made up 17% of the homeless population this year.

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Race

Comparison of Race data shows a higher proportion of homeless minorities than the general population. While the majority of homeless people in El

Paso County are white, the share of the black and Native American homeless population is twice the size of their share of the general population.

Acronyms Throughout the rest of this document, we may use common acronyms from time to time. Here’s what they mean.

CoC = Continuum of Care ES = Emergency Shelter HIC = Housing Inventory Count HP = Homeless Prevention HUD = U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development PIT = Point-In-Time PPCoC = Pikes Peak Continuum of Care PSH = Permanent Supportive Housing RRH = Rapid Re-Housing TH = Transitional Housing

Other acronyms will be explained where used.

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Overall – HUD Count

2017 Total HUD PIT Count = 1,415 people In October 2016 (between PIT counts), the community implemented a Coordinated Entry system. Coordinated Entry allows for the area’s service providers to more easily connect residents with services and housing regardless of entry point. The system relies on a survey tool that assesses a family’s or individual’s vulnerability and sorts people by vulnerability and housing type need. This represented a major shift in data management and coordination within the PPCoC.

The comparison of the 2013 and 2017 PIT counts reflect an increase of 244 people, from 1171 persons experiencing homelessness in 2013 to 1415 people in 2017. When compared to the 2016 PIT count, the 2017 PIT shows an increase of 113 people experiencing homelessness (8.7%), which accounts for an increase of 95 households (9.9%). The 2016 Annual Homeless Assessment Report (AHAR), which covers an entire year (10/1/2015-9/30/2016) and includes information for those in ES, TH, and PSH, reported a total of 1,488 people in Households with children (28%) and 3796 people in households without children (72%). These percentages are comparable with the PIT count where people in Households with Children accounted for 31.5% of the homeless client count (about 3% lower than AHAR), and Households without Children accounted for 68.5% (about 3% higher than AHAR). The full AHAR can be found at http://www.ppunitedway.org/cis.html in the CIS Reports section.

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Sheltered – HUD Count 2017 Total HUD PIT Count = 1,415 people

The total number of individuals in Emergency Shelters and Transitional Housing programs decreased slightly from 2016 as did the total number of Households, though the trend over the last five years appears static.

● The decrease in the sheltered population from the 2016 PIT is largely due to the lower occupancy rate in 2017 (see page 36) o While the community saw a decrease in low barrier Winter Shelter beds, due to one of the Winter Shelters not opening for the 2016-2017 winter

season, the other low-barrier winter shelter increased their capacity and made beds available year-round.

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Unsheltered – HUD Count 2017 Total HUD PIT Count = 1,415 people

The 2017 unsheltered population increased by 146 people (47%) compared to 2016 and by 86% compared to 2013. We can attribute this higher count to a very limited extent to the expanded PIT outreach effort and geographic coverage. Interestingly, while the number of unsheltered people grew, emergency bed occupancy decreased by 10% (see page 35).

● The number of unsheltered Households increased by 44%. ● The number of unsheltered people in Households with Children increased by 84%.

o Note that this is thought to be the most undercounted group as we have very limited beds for households with children, and providers report that these households are more likely to sleep in their car or rely on family/friends on a cold night rather than risk losing their children.

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Ages – HUD Count 2017 Total HUD PIT Count = 1,415 people

● There was a decrease in homeless youth (ages 18-24) from 2016, though it remains largely static over the last five years. There has been an increased

effort to reach youth experiencing homelessness in the past two years, such as more collaboration between service providers and the School District’s McKinney Vento liaisons.

● There was also an increase of unsheltered children experiencing homelessness since 2016, by 13 people. ● The largest increase over the last year among the age groups was the 13% jump for adults (over 24).

o The average age of a sheltered person experiencing homelessness was 32 years old. o The average age of an unsheltered person experiencing homelessness was 43 years old.

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Ethnicity/Race – HUD Count 2017 Total HUD PIT Count = 1,415 people

● There was a slight increase of Hispanic/Latino people experiencing homelessness since 2014, from 15.8% to 17.2%. ● The share of white homelessness has decreased from 74% in 2014 to 69% in 2017. The sharpest increase was seen among multiracial people, which

increased from 5% in 2014 to 9% in 2017. ● Black and Native American homelessness has steadily grown while the general Black and Native American populations have decreased in El Paso County

(2015 American Community Survey).

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Gender – HUD Count 2017 Total HUD PIT Count = 1,415 people

● PIT Gender shows a slight increase for Female from 35.5% in 2014 to 36.9% in 2017, a decrease in Male from 64.4% to 62.5%, and increase in transgender from .1% to .5%.

● The 2017 PIT has a new category of “Doesn’t Identify as Male/Female/Transgender” that was added as a HUD required data element October 2016. This year two people reported under this new non-binary category.

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Parenting Youth-Only Households – HUD Count 2017 Total HUD PIT Count = 1,415 people; Parenting and Unaccompanied Youth Count = 99

HUD, in partnership with other federal partners, plans to use the 2017 PIT data as the baseline year for tracking efforts to end homelessness among youth on the

streets and in sheltered situations (www.hudexchange.info). The Youth-Only Households, includes only households where all household members are under the

age of 25, and has two HUD defined categories - Parenting and Unaccompanied.

● There were 13 Sheltered Parenting Youth-Only Households consisting of 30 people, 12 of whom were parenting youth and 18 of which were the children

of parenting youth. These numbers are roughly double the 2016 counts. ● In 2017, there were no parenting youth-only households counted on the streets.

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Unaccompanied Youth-Only Households – HUD Count 2017 Total HUD PIT Count = 1,415 people; Parenting and Unaccompanied Youth Count = 99 Youth experiencing homelessness have often experienced trauma at the hands of adults and are reluctant to trust adults. This could affect the willingness to participate and the information given in particular by unsheltered youth who might be surveyed by people seen as adult strangers.

● There was a decrease of 22 sheltered youth from 62 people in 2016 to 44 people in 2017.

● There was an increase of 8 unsheltered youth from 33 people in 2016 to 41 people in 2017.

● It was noted that 2 of the 3 Unsheltered Unaccompanied youth under the age of 18 were surveyed by an Urban Peak Outreach worker. This information

shows that these youth have made contact with the Organization specializing in assisting the needs of youth experiencing homelessness.

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Youth-Only Ethnicity/Race – HUD Count 2017 Total HUD PIT Count = 1,415 people; Parenting and Unaccompanied Youth Count = 99

● 2017 saw an increase of Native, Hispanic/Latino and multiracial homeless youth. The number of homeless Hispanic Youth-Only persons has grown by 80% since 2015.

● While White Youth-Only homeless decreased since 2016, it has risen overall by nearly 43% since 2015. ● There was a 32% decrease in Black Youth-Only homeless from 2015.

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Chronic Homeless – HUD Count 2017 Total HUD PIT Count = 1,415 people; Chronic Homeless Count = 374

● Chronic Homeless Counts for individuals staying in Emergency Shelters decreased significantly from 207 people in 2016 to 117 people in 2017. Chronic

homeless persons in families staying in Emergency Shelters decreased from 32 people to 3 people.

● The number of unsheltered individuals increased by 101 people, from 148 in 2016 to 249 in 2017. Chronic homeless persons in families who were

unsheltered increased slightly from 0 people in 2016 to 5 people in 2017. It is noted that more chronic homeless individuals were sleeping outside this

year instead of accessing higher barrier shelter beds, as the higher barrier shelter beds are those showing lower occupancy.

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Chronic Homeless Veteran – HUD Count 2017 Total HUD PIT Count = 1,415 people; Chronic Homeless Count = 374

● Veterans accounted for 16% of the chronically homeless population. ● There were no chronically homeless veteran families in either the sheltered or unsheltered categories. ● The count of veterans in Emergency Shelters experiencing chronic homelessness decreased by 33% since 2016. ● The count of unsheltered, chronically homeless veterans increased by 62% since 2016. This shift is consistent with the overall PIT homeless count shift

from Emergency Shelter bed occupancy rates and unsheltered situations.

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Disabling Conditions – Sheltered Chronic Homeless – HUD Count 2017 Total HUD PIT Count = 1,415 people; Chronic Homeless Count = 374

The converse of the previous data about the unsheltered and disabled, the number of people in shelters with disabling conditions has gone down since 2016.

The 2017 Point-In-Time saw a decrease in all disabling condition categories for those who Chronically Homeless and sheltered on the night of the Point-In-Time.

Opposite of the Chronic Homeless Unsheltered category, the sheltered Chronic Homeless saw a decrease of 119 people (50%). Again, this shift is comparable

with the decrease seen across these disabling condition categories.

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Disabling Conditions – Unsheltered Chronic Homeless – HUD Count 2017 Total HUD PIT Count = 1,415 people; Chronic Homeless Count = 374

A disabling condition is one of the requirements for the determination of chronic homelessness. When a person goes into transitional or permanent housing, he/she is no longer considered to be chronically homeless as he/she now has stable housing. Thus, only people who are unsheltered or in emergency shelter are included in the following two charts.

Note: A person can have more than one disabling condition, which explains why these numbers add up to more than the 374 people represented.

The 2017 Point-In-Time saw an increase in most disabling condition categories for those who were chronically homeless and unsheltered on the night of the

Point-In-Time. Since people can have more than one disabling condition, there is no comparison with actual counts of people experiencing homelessness.

However, it is noted that the overall count of unsheltered Chronic Homeless saw an increase of 106 people (72%), which is comparable to the increase seen

across these disabling condition categories.

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Domestic Violence – Chronic Homeless – HUD Count 2017 Total HUD PIT Count = 1,415 people; Chronic Homeless Count = 374

There is a notable increase of people experiencing chronic homelessness who reported as being a victim of domestic violence, from 2 people in 2016 to 115 people in 2017. It is noted that HUD has worked to capture domestic violence information more accurately over the years by rewording how those questions are being asked to those experiencing homelessness.

The number of homeless domestic violence victims in Emergency Shelters remains static, mainly due to sustained occupancy of the region’s only domestic violence shelter.

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Last Known Permanent Address – HUD Count 2017 Total HUD PIT Count = 1,415 people; Unsheltered Count = 457

The survey of unsheltered homeless persons includes asking for a last known permanent address (apartment, room, or house) where the client last lived for 90 days or more.

The percentage of those experiencing homelessness whose last permanent address was outside the county continues to grow, but more slowly the past two years. 2016 shows 59.2% inside El Paso County and 2017 shows 58.6. 2016 shows 35.4% Outside County/State and 2017 34.8%. 2016 shows 5.5% Don’t Know/Refused, while 2017 reported 6.6%

The PIT survey does not ask residents to provide a reason for moving to El Paso County - more qualitative research is needed to determine the cause the influx.

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Households and Total Persons– Community Count 2017 Total HUD PIT Count = 1,415 people; 2017 Total Community PIT Count = 2,094 people

The Community Point-In-Time differs significantly from the HUD PIT, and is a better reflection of the number of people served by, and in need of the services of the Continuum of Care. It includes the HUD count (unsheltered, emergency shelter, and transitional housing) and adds people in permanent supporting housing, rapid re-housing and homeless prevention beds.

When those who are permanently housed through a Permanent Housing Voucher or a Rapid Re-housing resource, and those who are at-risk of

homelessness and receiving services to prevent a return to homelessness are counted, the total PIT count is just over 2,094.

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By Program Type – Community Count 2017 Total HUD PIT Count = 1,415 people; 2017 Total Community PIT Count = 2,094 people

The count of people stably housed through Permanent Supportive Housing and Rapid Rehousing increased by 95 people from 584 people in 2016 to 679

people in 2017.

The count of people at-risk of homelessness, served through Homeless Prevention programs, will always be low, as the source of that count has limited

reach.

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Ethnicity/Race – Community Count 2017 Total HUD PIT Count = 1,415 people; 2017 Total Community PIT Count = 2,094 people

Generally, the proportion of Hispanic/Latinos and non-whites has increased from 2016 to 2017. This is consistent with the changes seen in the HUD Count.

Hispanic/Latinos increased from 15.8% to 17.9% while non-Hispanic/Latino decreased from 84.2% to 82.1%.

Whites decreased from 69.8% to 68.3% while the combined other races increased from 30.2% to 31.7%.

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Gender – Community Count 2017 Total HUD PIT Count = 1,415 people; 2017 Total Community PIT Count = 2,094 people

Comparable to the data reporting in the HUD PIT, the Community PIT Gender reporting shows a 9% increase for Females from 716 in 2016 to 782 in

2017.

The 2017 PIT has a new category of “Doesn’t Identify as Male/Female/Transgender” that was added as a HUD required data element October 2016. In

2017, the PIT Community report has 4 people reporting under this new non-binary category.

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Veterans – Community Count 2017 Total HUD PIT Count = 1,415 people; 2017 Total Community PIT Count = 2,094 people

HUD, and communities across the U.S., had a goal of ending veteran homelessness by the end of 2015. This is a goal El Paso County is still working towards. 1Ending veteran homelessness locally is not just about reducing the number of veterans identified at a Point-In-Time. It is also about having a system in place that is able to prevent veterans from experiencing homelessness to the maximum extent possible while connecting veterans that do experience homelessness.

The number of veterans in emergency shelters has gone up by 54% and unsheltered veterans by 47% since 2013.

More vets were housed in Permanent Supportive Housing, though there was a decrease in those housed through other programs.

1 https://www.hudexchange.info/news/snaps-in-focus-what-it-means-to-end-veteran-homelessness/

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School District Data by Grade 2017 Total HUD PIT Count = 1,415 people; 2017 Total Community PIT Count = 2,094 people

School districts are asked to participate in the Community PIT reporting by providing counts of identified homeless students. The school definition of homelessness includes “at risk” households, which is broader than CoC/HUD definition. Because of the broader definition of homelessness, and the inability of the school districts to share identifying information (to remove duplicates across the PIT reporting), this information is not included in the actual PIT report. While the data is not directly comparable to our HUD or Community counts, it does provide a different picture of students and their families who are at risk and are receiving services or may need assistance. School information includes all school age children, (which can be over 18 years of age). This year 12 school districts submitted their count. School District participation continues to rise every year.

The McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act was first introduced and signed into law in 1987 by President Reagan and is known as the first federal response to homelessness. It has been updated and amended several times since, most recently by the Homeless Emergency Assistance and Rapid Transition to Housing (HEARTH) Act of 2009. Title VII of the Act authorizes several programs administered by the Department of Education to help homeless children and families. This program enables public school districts to share data like those above with entities like the Pikes Peak Continuum of Care.

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School District Data by Housing Situation 2017 Total HUD PIT Count = 1,415 people; 2017 Total Community PIT Count = 2,094 people

In additional the number of students reported as living in a homeless situation, the school districts also provided consistent information regarding housing situation for the students they consider homeless.

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Housing Inventory Count 2017 Total HUD Housing Inventory Count 1,805 beds

In conjunction with the PIT, a count of all beds for people experiencing homelessness in our community is taken in order to assess bed usage and unmet needs. The Housing Inventory Count (HIC) includes Emergency Shelter beds, Transitional Housing beds, Permanent Housing beds and Rapid Re-Housing beds. The Permanent Housing and Rapid Re-Housing clients are not included in the HUD PIT count of people, but the beds are counted as part of the HUD Housing Inventory Count and the people are included in our community PIT count.

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Bed Count and Occupancy Rate - Total 2017 Total HUD Housing Inventory Count 1,805 beds

● Of the 1805 beds in the 2017 HIC, 90.7% or 1637 beds were occupied on the night of January 22, 2017.

● Total beds increased by 94 beds from 2016, and total beds occupied on the night of the PIT increased by 62.

o + 7 emergency shelter; -7 transitional; + 54 permanent supportive housing; +40 RRH

● Overall PIT occupancy rate decreased from 92% to 90.7% even though total beds occupied increased.

● Increase of 84 beds covered in HMIS and the percent of beds covered continues to improve (now at 95.1%).

o DV (domestic violence) beds are not allowed to participate in HMIS, and winter shelter and overflow beds are not required to be covered. Our

goal is to cover the winter shelter beds in HMIS in the upcoming season.

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Bed Inventory - Emergency Shelters 2017 Total HUD Housing Inventory Count 1,805 beds

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Bed Count and Occupancy Rate - Emergency Shelters 2017 Total HUD Housing Inventory Count 1,805 beds

Emergency Shelter:

● Seasonal shelter beds were replaced with year round beds, which resulted in a net gain of 222 year round shelter beds in our inventory however, a

decrease of 210 Seasonal shelter beds, and a decrease of 5 Overflow beds, resulting in a total net gain of 7 beds between the three categories of

Emergency Shelter we count to the current inventory of 605 shelter beds.

● Of the shelter beds that were not used on the night of the PIT, all but 69 beds were full, most unfilled were at Salvation Army (50), others were only

open to very specific populations; respite (7), youth (4), veterans (1), families (6).

● Shelters collectively had an occupancy rate of 88.6% on the night of the PIT.

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Bed Inventory - Transitional Housing 2017 Total HUD Housing Inventory Count 1,805 beds

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Bed Count and Occupancy Rate – Transitional Housing 2017 Total HUD Housing Inventory Count 1,805 beds

Transitional Housing:

● Transitional Housing total inventory decreased by 7 beds. HUD is looking for less Transitional Housing and more Permanent Housing to be in our

inventory.

● There are 11 new TH beds in our inventory from Family Promise.

● There are 18 TH beds under development and expected to start their programs in this calendar year yet had not begun by the date of the PIT. 16 beds at

ESM WISH House and 2 additional FUP (Family unification program) beds for youth. WISH House may end up being a shelter rather than TH so these

numbers could be adjusted next year.

● Of the 24 TH beds not filled on the night of the PIT; PIH had 14 open beds, Springs Rescue Mission New Life had 5 beds unfilled, Homeward Pikes Peak’s

Harbor House had 3 beds unfilled and Dream Centers had 2 beds unfilled.

● Transitional Housing collectively had an occupancy rate of 94.6% on the night of the PIT.

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Bed Inventory - Permanent Housing 2017 Total HUD Housing Inventory Count 1,805 beds

Our community’s Permanent Supportive Housing inventory increased by 94 beds. We do have one “Other Permanent Housing” resource however, the bed inventory did not change and all of those beds were occupied on the night of the PIT. HUD is looking to see more Permanent Housing in our bed inventory.

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Bed Count and Occupancy Rate - Permanent Housing 2017 Total HUD Housing Inventory Count 1,805 beds

Permanent Supportive Housing ● PSH increased their bed inventory by 54 beds.

● We continue to have vouchers that are issued in voucher programs where clients holding the voucher are having difficulty in finding housing. This

results in vouchers available and assigned % Individuals, but clients not yet housed; can lose the voucher if not housed in 90 days; can get an extension,

but if contact is lost (e.g. with un-housed clients), extension may not happen. Also results in programs keeping unfilled beds in their inventory for a

longer period of time.

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Bed Inventory - Rapid Re-Housing 2017 Total HUD Housing Inventory Count 1,805 beds

In Permanent Supportive Housing category, the inventory of beds increased by 54 and in Rapid Re-Housing the inventory of beds increased by 40 beds. Rapid rehousing counts the number of people being served, so the number of beds always equals the number of people.

Rapid Re-Housing:

● RRH increased their inventory by 40 beds.

● 81 new beds were added this year.

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Point-In-Time Count Summary

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Housing Inventory Count Summary

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References

Point-In-Time Comparisons

CO-504 - Colorado Springs/El Paso County

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Housing Inventory Count Comparisons

CO-504 - Colorado Springs/El Paso County

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Acknowledgements This report would not be possible without the collaborative efforts of a large group of people. Our sincerest thanks go to all of the following: ● The team who put together the map of locations ● All outreach staff who reached the hard to reach: Fountain and Manitou

Police, CSPD Homeless Outreach Team, Blackbird Outreach, Rocky Mountain Human Services, House of Misfits and Urban Peak

● All organizations who participated ● All organizations who enter data into our Client Management System

● Over 100+ volunteers who gave generously of their time and compassion

● Donors who provided socks, candy, gift cards, and outdoor heaters ● Pikes Peak United Way staff for their love of data ● The community for their continued support of this effort

Thank you for making people count!

Questions and Contact Information

For questions about Point-In-Time data: Eva Nunes | Director of Community Information Systems Pikes Peak United Way eva@ppunitedway.org 719.955.0741

For questions about Housing Inventory data: Suzi Arnold | Community Information Systems Project Manager Pikes Peak United Way suzi@ppunitedway.org 719.955.0769

For questions about HUD and Census data: Catherine Duarte, AICP | Community Development Analyst City of Colorado Springs cduarte@springsgov.com 719.385.6876

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