Warm food, clothing and housing assistance will be among the many services offered to homeless veterans Tuesday at Weidner Field as the community sees a rise in need.  

The annual point-in-time count in El Paso County in January found 195 veterans were homeless and living in emergency housing, transitional housing or unsheltered. In 2024, 89 veterans were homeless.

The numbers follow a larger trend of the number of homeless people accounted for in the point-in-time count rising from 1,146 in 2024 to 1,745 in 2025, marking a record high in El Paso County. 

The annual Homeless Veterans Stand Down hosted by Mt. Carmel Veterans Service Center provides a range of services to those in most need including assistance applying for benefits, help with their job searches, haircuts, health checkups and a variety of warm clothing ahead of winter. The event drew 126 veterans last year, said Bob McLaughlin, executive director of Mt. Carmel.

“In the worst case they really have nothing,” McLaughlin said, and all are grateful for the assistance. 

This fall, event organizers are working with the new downtown ambassadors employed by the Downtown Partnership’s Clean & Safe Program to spread the word about the event, said McLaughlin. They are also working with the Homeless Outreach Team through the Colorado Springs Police. 

“We are really surging,” he said. 

While some nonprofits and agencies that serve homeless residents have run into financial shortfalls this year, those issues have not impacted support for or participation in the Stand Down, McLaughlin said. 

Weidner Homes is the new primary sponsor for the event for the next three years and the number of partnering agencies is up from about 50 to about 60, he said. 

As in year’s past a small group of veterans who attend the Stand Down will be selected for transitional housing at a local hotel. If homeless residents can get into housing it can help save the community money on emergency response and emergency room visits, which are far more likely among unsheltered people. 

“If you can bring somebody out of homelessness you are saving a life and having an economic impact,” McLaughlin said. 

Those who are interested in volunteering at the Stand Down are needed from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. on Monday at Mt. Carmel and on Tuesday at Weidner Field to help set up and tear down the event. Volunteers are needed between 6:30 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. Tuesday and from 1:30 p.m. to 3 p.m. 

The opening ceremony for the event starts at 8:30 a.m. with a speech from Mayor Yemi Mobolade. The Stand Down will be held from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.