The seven-county Denver metro area homeless population dropped 11.5 percent last year to 9,091 – but by only four percent in Denver, according to a survey released today.
While the study found an overall decline – the first since 2004 – the number of homeless families increased 12 percent, the chronically homeless surged 47 percent and the concentration of homeless people in Denver hit a seven-year high.
All are seen as signs that a tough economic environment still exists, advocates say.
The survey was done on the night of Jan. 23 by the Metropolitan Denver Homeless Initiative and Mile High United Way.
It found that just over half the 9,091 displaced people were in Denver, the greatest cluster there since the survey began in 2000.
Denver held 46 percent of the area’s homeless population last year, up from 40 percent in 2004.
“We want people to understand that while it is great the overall number of homeless seemingly went down, there are still 9,000 people who can’t call a place home and that’s a travesty,” said Tom Luehrs, president of MDHI board and executive director of St. Francis Center in Denver.
MDHI is a collaborative of more than 100 area agencies service homeless and at-risk populations.
Among other survey findings compared to last year’s figures:
The number of homeless children and youth through age 19 dropped by 11.5 percent but still make up a third of the overall homeless population.
The number of homeless getting federal food stamp benefits is up 10 percent.
Fewer homeless people are working than last year and about two in five say they’re homeless because of a lost job.
Nearly one in five people were homeless for the first time, more than last year.
The survey was conducted in area food banks, soup kitchens, shelters and on the street at a cost of about $30,000, Luehrs said.
Staff writer David Migoya can be reached at dmigoya@denverpost.com or (303)820-1506.
