It’s snowing in Colorado Springs. Time to talk about homelessness.

Homelessness is one of those topics where ideology gets loud. But lived experience whispers truths we aren’t ready to hear.

Back in 2018, I promoted Housing First – Everybody In. I cheered the models from L.A. and Connecticut. Like many, I thought if you just give people housing without preconditions, the rest will work out.

But I was wrong.

I know homelessness well. I’ve been homeless. From my home, I’ve walked the slow trek to self-sufficiency with families and individuals by housing them.

I’ve also sat in Continuum of Care meetings and watched, firsthand, how much suffering gets flattened into spreadsheets. I learned the difference between theory and reality.

And Colorado Springs is at a turning point. This year’s Point-in-Time survey count shows the challenge clearer than ever.

On the night of January 26, the Pikes Peak Continuum of Care counted 1,745 people experiencing homelessness in El Paso County. This is a 34% increase from last year.

1,223 were in shelters or transitional housing.

773 in emergency shelter

450 in transitional housing.

522 were fully unsheltered — living outside, in tents, in cars, or abandoned spaces.

This was the most comprehensive count ever, using over 100 volunteers and expanded surveying techniques. So yes, the increase is real.

And the biggest driver? No surprise: housing affordability, which is now outpacing wages for thousands of local residents.

These numbers matter because they determine where federal resources will be deployed. But we must understand that each of those 1,745 people has a story, a history, a trauma pattern, and a set of unmet needs that won’t be solved by “just give them a key.”

And the combination of rising need and improved surveying tells a story thatlocal leaders can’t ignore: the crisis is growing. We need more solutions.

In a column from 2024 on homelessness, I noted:

“Colorado Springs homeless programs with their emphasis on supporting the desire to work deliver needed results… most of this can be attributed to our city’s values of caring and mission-driven teamwork, as opposed to creating government dependency.”

That still holds true. We avoided the surge that we see in Denver because we stayed focused on work, service partnerships, and accountability.

But Colorado Springs is facing a new influx of homelessness driven by economics, not just behavior. And that means our solutions have to evolve too.

Back in 2021 Michael Shellenberger – In San Fransicko: Why Progressives Ruin Cities, argued:

He says the real roots are untreated addiction and mental illness. He says “Housing First” fails because it doesn’t require treatment. He says progressive cities enable dysfunction rather than interrupt it.

I wasn’t sure I agreed with all of that in 2021. But after watching Denver and Colorado Springs for 7 years…

I thank God Colorado Springs is not a progressive city.

There is no way to keep believing homelessness is primarily a housing problem. Yet, affordable housing is critical in Colorado.

We must also confront the reality that untreated mental illness and addiction drive chronic street homelessness. Where Shellenberger goes too far is acting like addiction or mental illness explain everything. They don’t.

People lose housing for dozens of reasons disability, fixed incomes, medical debt, domestic violence, pandemic economics, and soaring rents. Housing is a root cause of homelessness.

It’s just not the only one.

Our city’s success has always come from the middle path, mission-driven nonprofits, prevention programs, WorkCOS jobs, church partnerships, The Salvation Army, the Rescue Mission, outreach – community accountability instead of ideological purity.

Colorado Springs has proven that a city can grow without collapsing under the weight of a humanitarian crisis. We can still be compassionate without being naïve.

My view now is that homelessness is fundamentally a relationship problem. It is a breakdown of healthy connection between individuals, systems, community, and stability.

We must create:

More low-income housing

More shared housing in sober living houses

More mental health treatment beds

More addiction recovery pathways

More workforce opportunities

More nonprofit partnerships

More mentoring of people in crisis

We need more unity in our community. Ideology can not rule. Creating relationships, dignity, and work matter the most here.

Even so, the data remains vital. The PIT count (however imperfect) helps Colorado Springs compete for federal funding, track changes year to year, and adapt local strategies. As agencies and nonprofits evaluate next steps, these numbers become the baseline for how the city plans, responds, and invests in solutions over the next 12 months.

The 2025 numbers are a call to action. But our city’s most balanced solutions have never come from Denver. Or Washington DC.

They’ve come from us.

Rachel Stovall is an event manager, entertainer and community advocate.