In response to a loss of emergency homeless shelter beds in Colorado Springs this year, government agencies and organizations that provide emergency food and shelter have devised a new plan to raise $900,000 to add more beds as fall fades and winter arrives.

“We’re glad to see that the new emergency sheltering plan reflects lessons learned from last year and input from many community partners,” said Melissa Oskin, founder and executive director of Hope COS, which since December of 2022 has provided temporary shelter locations in cold weather.

“It’s encouraging to see everyone come together to review areas for improvement and strengthen our collective response for extreme weather events,” she said.

The Pikes Peak Regional Office of Emergency Management, the city of Colorado Springs and El Paso County organizations that serve the homeless population have been working on creating and executing the new plan.

Colorado Springs Mayor Yemi Mobolade led the fundraising effort, said city spokesman Joe Hollman, after service providers identified the need.

About $850,000 has been raised from grants and donations toward a goal of $900,000, according to Aimee Cox, the city’s chief housing and homelessness response officer.

The community has a shortage of nearly 200 overnight shelter beds, officials announced in July, while releasing the results of this year’s Point in Time census that measures communities’ homeless population across the nation.

The number of people countywide who described themselves as homeless on the night of Jan. 26 ballooned from 1,146 in 2024 to 1,745 people this year, the local survey administrator, Pikes Peak Continuum of Care, reported. That reflected a 52% increase.

Also, two shelters announced in August that they would remove beds from service due to budget constraints.

The Place, El Paso County’s only licensed overnight shelter for homeless teens, closed all 20 beds for youth ages 14 to 20 years old on Sept. 5. The organization is repurposing the  building as a day center for homeless teens and young adults.

In mid-September, the Salvation Army shuttered 16 of the 31 units for homeless parents with children at its Family Hope Center. The organization announced this week that it’s working on reopening five of the closed suites soon.

The new winter emergency sheltering plan calls for increasing overnight beds by 150 people in severe weather of 19 degrees Fahrenheit or below, and by 350 in extreme weather conditions of 10 degrees or less for two consecutive days or more.

“Our plan is not ideal,” Cox said. “Ideally, we wouldn’t have to do surges.”

The intention, said Travis Williams, CEO of Springs Rescue Mission, the city’s largest shelter, is that no one will have to worry about going hungry and finding a warm indoor space to sleep even on the coldest nights.

Springs Rescue Mission’s normal capacity of 450 overnight clients will expand to 525 in severe weather and up to 600 people in extreme weather.

Hope COS will reopen The Sanctuary Church gym as an overnight shelter again this year. It can accommodate 80 to 120 people, depending on the weather.

The organization now has an office inside the church, Oskin said, “which allows us to better support individuals who need additional resources or ongoing assistance.”

First United Methodist church also will take overflow overnighters.

The expansion will bring the community’s total cold-weather emergency sheltering capacity to 980 people, which is 150 more than last year, Cox said.

Catholic Charities of Central Colorado will keep the Marian Kitchen open as a warming shelter at 32 degrees or lower until 3 p.m. and 19 degrees or lower until 4 p.m. Catholic Charities also plans to provide hotel vouchers to clients.

Transportation will increase as well, possibly using Mountain Metro Transit buses to take people to shelters, Cox said.

Last year, Hope COS, Silver Key Senior Services, Envida Cares and the Colorado Springs Fire Department shuttled people back and forth to shelters.

Hope COS has relied solely on volunteer power to transport people from homeless encampments, trails and other locations to shelters, Oskin said.

“Our approach remains focused on ensuring safety and access for those in need,” she said.

Nine people who died of hypothermia or exposure to the elements last year were identified as homeless at the time of death — a number that’s remained steady in recent years, the El Paso County Coroner’s annual report shows.