Denver sees historic drop in street homelessness: Mayor Johnston

Yahoo

5 hours ago

DENVER (KDVR) — The annual survey on how many people in Denver are experiencing homelessness was released, and Mayor Mike Johnston said it marked the largest reduction in street homelessness in U.S. history.
The Point-In-Time Count was released on Monday by the Metro Denver Homeless Initiative, which looked into the number of people experiencing homelessness on a single night in January across seven Denver metro counties, including Adams, Arapahoe, Boulder, Broomfield, Denver, Douglas and Jefferson counties.
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The survey found that across the seven counties, the rate of homelessness still increased from 9,997 in 2024 to 10,774 in 2025, but the rate 'slowed significantly compared to previous years.' Meanwhile, the survey saw a decrease in people experiencing homelessness for the first time, from 3,535 in 2024 to 2,992 in 2025.
The survey also found that people in emergency shelters and transitional housing increased from 7,058 in 2024 to 8,625 in 2025, while the number of people sleeping on the streets, in cars or other places decreased from 2,919 to 2,149.
In Denver, the count found 785 people on the streets of Denver, which the mayor's office said was a 45% drop from 2023, when 1,423 people were without a place to live.
The mayor's office said these were the best results in the country among participating cities, and the data showed 'the largest two-year reduction in street homelessness in U.S. history' and the lowest number of unsheltered people in the country among participating large cities.
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The mayor's office said this comes after Johnston issued a state of emergency on homelessness on his first day in office in July 2023. Since then, he has permanently closed over 400 blocks to camping and helped 5,500 find permanent housing.
'Denver is proving that homelessness is solvable so long as we are willing to put in the work to solve it,' said Johnston. 'In less than two years we have gone from a city that swept people from block to block to one that treats people with dignity and delivers real results. This policy is not only morally just but effective.'
The survey found that this was the first winter season where no one died from cold-weather exposure when sleeping outside in the Denver metro region.
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