The compassion of Coloradans knows no bounds when it comes to the homeless. An eye-opening study released Friday by Colorado think tank Common Sense Institute has concluded that more than $1.7 billion will be spent combating homelessness over three years – from 2021 through next year – a staggering increase in funding.

Per beneficiary, it amounts to $31,428 to $61,871 a year after allowing for the ever-fluctuating total number of homeless.

And that’s just in the Denver metro area; it’s not counting homeless hotspots like the Colorado Springs area and Pueblo, among other Colorado communities. Assuredly, statewide funding for homelessness has been on the rise given, as the study notes, how the dramatic funding increase is due partly to a temporary infusion of federal COVID-19 funds to our state.

The Common Sense study included public funding and private charitable giving in tallying the largesse on behalf of Colorado’s wide-ranging and diverse homeless population. The findings underscore the generosity of Coloradans toward those in need.

But here’s the thing: The outpouring of compassion by Coloradans hasn’t put a dent in the region’s homelessness. The Common Sense report also found that the sheer number of homeless – especially the “unsheltered and chronically homeless” who refuse a warm bed indoors or any help with their addictions and mental health issues – keeps rising.

As Common Sense summed it up in a press statement: “The total metro Denver population of individuals experiencing homelessness grew by 13% from 2020 to 2022; over that time, the unsheltered population grew by 33% to its highest level since 2008. The unsheltered population is up 120% since 2019.”

Is it any wonder?

If, as the expression goes, you build it and they will come – then if you keep on building, they’ll come come in droves.

As we have noted here many times, the problem in addressing homelessness isn’t a lack of spending; it’s a lack of accountability. That’s particularly so when it comes to the itinerants – typically alcohol- and drug-addicted and in many cases, suffering from mental illness – who insist on camping in parks and other public spaces in Denver, Colorado Springs, Aurora and elsewhere. These are the drifters who are homeless only in the strictest sense – they don’t have permanent addresses – but in most cases it’s not because they are victims of economic circumstance. They are victims of their own bad choices.

They unquestionably need help – but not a handout like Denver’s dubious decision to pay $1,000 monthly to homeless women in shelters. Assistance should come with conditions: no substance use; rehab if warranted; accepting work and staying in a shelter.

Otherwise, Coloradans truly are throwing good money after bad.

While the study itself doesn’t explicitly draw such conclusions, its findings make the case.

“…The rise in the unsheltered and chronically homeless population reflects broader system-level weaknesses that must be addressed by a comprehensive regional strategy,” the authors write, pointing to the need for, “broader solutions to mental health, addiction, housing affordability, and educational attainment…”

The authors also note, “While the unsheltered homeless population in Denver grew by 33% between 2020 and 2022, it decreased by 19% in San Antonio and 9% in Houston.”

What policies in San Antonio and Houston could Colorado’s cities learn from? Aurora elected officials recently traveled to Texas to find out and now are developing new local efforts to reflect their findings.

Our whole state should follow Aurora’s example and fundamentally rethink our approach – before budgeting another dime.

Denver Gazette Editorial Board