Report puts $2B price tag on spending to combat homelessness in Denver
A new report puts a nearly $2 billion price tag on spending to combat homelessness in the Denver metro area.
The report by the Common Sense Institute, a free-enterprise think tank, examined the growth of the homeless population in Colorado, in addition to spending, resources, deaths and health care. CSI found that between 2021 and this year, $1.9 billion will be spent on homelessness by federal, state, local and private entities.
“Since 2016, there has been a 58% increase in Metro Denver’s unhoused population,” CSI Executive Director Kelly Caufield said in a statement. “It’s a public policy challenge that dominated the election season and generated conversations in neighborhoods across the state, and, rightfully so, this is an issue that pulls at our heartstrings and challenges our compassion.”
“The picture is bleak,” Caufield added. “More children are unhoused, mortality rates are higher than the average population, and Denver Health’s spending on homeless care has risen 34% in the last three years.”
In 2022, 226 homeless individuals died from various causes, CSI said, citing Denver Office of the Medical Examiner data. That's up 67% since 2018.
"Over half (56%) of the unhoused who died in Denver in 2022 died from a drug overdose, 126 in total," the report said.
There are 1,383 homeless individuals under 18, according to the latest point in time count in the metro area.
"Children are increasingly affected, with a 600% increase in homeless unaccompanied children since 2016," according to CSI.