The annual Point in Time headcount of El Paso County’s homeless population taken one frigid night in January showed a large and record-high jump in numbers this year, leading to the conclusion that the community needs more emergency shelter beds.

But, facing a more than $1 million budget shortfall, one key provider says it has no choice but to shrink its operations.

The Salvation Army’s local office will reduce emergency overnight beds for families with children by half to balance its 2025-2026 budget that starts Oct. 1, Maj. Stephen Ball, El Paso County coordinator and corps officer, said Tuesday.

“That this is happening at the time we’re seeing the Point in Time giving us indication we need more beds is very sad, but it’s just a reality. The good news is we aren’t closing the shelter.”

The Family Hope Center, at 709 S. Sierra Madre St., will take offline 16 of the shelter’s family-style rooms and continue to offer 15 spaces for homeless parents and children to stay for up to three months while they work on resuming a track of independence.

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All services will be available, Ball said, from shelter beds and meals to case management and assistance with finding stable housing and employment, busing to schools and other support programs for children and adults.

Eight to 10 employees out of a staff of 54 are being laid off, also to balance the $9 million annual budget, he said. “We just don’t have the income to keep the staff on.”

The shelter has been steadily full, with up to 100 clients in the 31 family rooms at any given time, Ball said. 

He’s still holding out hope that lingering grants applications will be fulfilled and community donations will flow. But as of now, the plan is to reduce capacity by 50% to keep programs for veterans, seniors, families and children going.

“The Point in Time is not a definitive study, but it is a good indication that we look to each year to give us a picture of what’s going on,” Ball said. “What it revealed this year is there’s a steady increase with homelessness.”

The Family Hope Center has accommodated about 10 families more this year than the first six months of 2024, he said.

“I do think we need more shelter beds in our work with children and families,” Ball said.

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More parents than ever before are contacting the city’s other family-sheltering program, Family Promise of Colorado Springs, said Tim Close, executive director. The organization works with 29 churches to house seven families at a time while they set a plan for returning to permanent housing. 

In any given month, the waiting list is around 50 families, Close said, and last month brought 100 requests for assistance with paying rent and utility bills.

“The need is so high that when we transition a family out, we’re immediately doing intake for a new one,” Close said. “The current financial climate with the cost of living, the lack of federal funding and the trickle-down impact of economic uncertainty has caused the need for families experiencing homelessness to go through the roof. The number of folks living in their vehicles has increased substantially in the last 90 days.”

For several years, the Salvation Army has been working on a strategy to relocate its homeless shelter from southwest downtown to the Salvation Army headquarters at 908 Yuma St., and possibly expand it. But given its fiscal situation, that idea is no longer feasible, Ball said.

“It’s still a vision. We’d love to be able to provide what’s needed in our community. But we have to provide what we can operate. That’s been the biggest challenge — trying to fund a program that’s needed but isn’t as strongly supported as we need it to be.”

Bed for adults up for debate

Whether the community needs more shelter beds for individual homeless adults depends on who weighs in, since capacity doesn’t necessarily translate to occupancy.

The number of shelter beds available during the Point in Time survey on Jan. 26 was 194 beds short — if all 1,745 people counted had occupied every year-round, seasonal or overflow emergency bed in the community that night, according to organizers.

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Sgt. Olav Chaney, who leads the Colorado Springs Police Department’s Homeless Outreach Team, said the city’s main shelter, Springs Rescue Mission, doesn’t turn people away.

“Whoever wants in, they add more beds. There’s always accessibility at Springs Rescue Mission.”

Some people prefer illegal camping because they don’t like the rules at shelters, Chaney said, which often include drugs and alcohol being prohibited.

Some people who live on the streets also say they don’t like to use the shelter because of crowding, issues like bedbugs, fights, restrictions on food brought in and other circumstances. Others have been banned from Springs Rescue Mission for flagrant violations or cannot take care of themselves physically to function independently.

Shelter bed availability has “not been a consistent issue,” said Melissa Oskin, co-founder and executive director of Hope COS, which offers addiction recovery programs and housing for homeless people. The organization also transports people and provides accommodations at temporary overnight warming shelters at its headquarters at 5440 N. Union Blvd., and churches around town when the temperature falls below 19 degrees.

“We continue to see individuals actively seeking permanent housing but not necessarily accessing shelter,” Oskin said.

Logistical and personal reasons for people not using shelters reflect how complex homelessness is, she said.

“We’ve had individuals decline to come inside even during dangerously low temperatures — which shows that having a bed available doesn’t always mean the need is fully met,” Oskin said. “Until we better understand and address the barriers to engagement, it’s difficult to truly assess how may shelter, transitional or permanent housing options are needed.”

The need seems apparent at Springs Rescue Mission, said President and CEO Travis Williams. The Christian organization operates a 15-acre campus with housing, three meals daily, employment services and other assistance for homeless adult men and women. 

The site also includes a 450-bed shelter, which can expand to 600 people or more during bad weather, as additional floor space makes room for anyone who wants to come inside.

The shelter normally sees an average of 350 people a night in the summertime, but this year, Springs Rescue Mission has been averaging 425 a night, Williams said.

“We’ve been close to our stated capacity of 450, which is a lot of people for us in summer. We’ve seen the growth not only in the shelter but also in our services.”

The rescue mission also has faced recent budget cuts and staff layoffs. But its goal extends beyond beds, Williams said, to helping people get better physically, mentally and emotionally and spiritually.

“We’re constantly watching the numbers and the community’s needs, but really we’re making sure we’re staying focused on providing care one person at a time, to see folks experience the best life they can.”