More public restrooms, additional police street patrol, non-congregate housing for homeless singles and families, permanent rental housing for homeless people, expanded sidewalk cleaning, increased regional collaboration and more work opportunities could be new strategies the city of Colorado Springs adopts to prevent and address homelessness in the community, under a new initiative the city intends to release in September.

City employees presented a “sneak peek” of Mayor Yemi Mobolade’s “Homelessness Response Plan” at a public feedback session Thursday afternoon. The plan will become part of an updated five-year strategic plan that Mobolade unveiled in June.

The in-person event at city administration drew upwards of 125 people that packed the room to hear how the city responds to homelessness currently, the framework of the new plan and gaps attendees see.

Residents also could listen to a virtual session online Thursday evening, and on Tuesday business owners and representatives voiced their views with city employees.

Issues related to homelessness and housing have been identified as the city’s top concern since Mobolade took office in June of 2023, based on community conversations and town halls he hosted, and other events, according to staff presenters.

The area also was the main concern of residents under previous Mayor John Suthers, his administration had said.

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El Paso County reported 1,302 sheltered and unsheltered homeless people in last year’s Point in Time count, which is administered every January as a requirement of funding from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Numbers from this year’s census are expected to be released next week, according to Amber Carlton, spokeswoman for Community Health Partnership, which leads the annual Point in Time survey. Results have been delayed this year due to delays in processing at the federal level, she said.

Denver’s data, released Wednesday, showed a 10% increase of the homeless population, for a total of 9,977 people, a jump largely driven by more homeless families and chronically homeless individuals.

More than 4,365 people have provided input in developing the new direction for Colorado Springs, said Catherine Duarte, manager for HUD programs.

Public feedback will help refine the actions that will be taken going forward, she said.

“This is a really emotional, big problem, and it affects everyone in different ways,” Duarte said. “There’s no one way to attack this; this plan is far-reaching, from prevention and to active response, enforcement and cleanup.”

Several ideas, such as expanding the police department’s Homeless Outreach Team and adding public bathroom facilities, will need cost analyses and identified funding before proceeding, she said.

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Others, such as the non-congregate housing concept, have money available, as leftover pandemic-relief dollars could be used for that, Duarte said.

“The plan is dictated by the lanes the city operates in and is meant to complement the work our nonprofits and agencies do,” she told attendees.

Twelve city departments interface directly with services for the homeless population, including camp cleanups, street outreach, an employment program, housing programs, trail monitoring, resources in the municipal courthouse, emergency management for cold-weather sheltering, law enforcement and protection.

The city continuously tries new approaches, such as the Homeless Outreach Team as of July 31 having addiction peer coaches from Serenity Recovery Connection riding with police as they make contact with people living in urban camps. In just a few weeks, four people have committed to assistance with maintaining sobriety, said Lt. Brian Steckler, who oversees the team.

And a program introduced in municipal court in 2022 to provide a voluntary resource table outside courtrooms is on pace in the first six months of this year to surpass last year’s 300 encounters by about 100 more people, said Presiding Judge HayDen Kane II, municipal court administrator.

Meeting attendees such as west-side resident David Vaillencourt expressed frustration with the existing response, calling for police to patrol the streets at night, not just in the day.

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He said he’s had his car license plate stolen, his trash rummaged through, and he’s witnessed countless fires and public use of drugs by homeless people.

“I support the care and compassion aspect,” Vaillencourt said. “It’s not about 9 to 5; the problems are at 9 p.m. and 2 in the morning.”

Many homeless people want to work with the city and residents, said Louis David Acker, who’s actively homeless.

Trash and drugs are the two complaints he hears most about, so last Saturday, a group that has unofficially organized as the Colorado Springs Homeless Union held a cleanup sweep from America the Beautiful Park through Dorchester Park.

“Historically our voices have been excluded from plans like this, so I’m glad we are being given a chance to have our voices heard,” he said after Thursday’s meeting. “I want to change the way things are for all the people who struggle. We need better solutions for better treatment and housing especially.”

Feedback collected during this week’s public sessions will be posted on the city’s website next week, presenters said.

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