EL PASO COUNTY, Colo. (KOAA) — The Pikes Peak Continuum of Care has released the findings for the 2026 Point-in-Time (PIT) Count, a report counting the number of people in the region who are experiencing homelessness on a single night in January.
The nationwide count is required by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to track trends, identify needs and inform responses.
On a single night in January, which was the 24, there were 1,413 people experiencing homelessness.
Of those people, 308 were unsheltered, and 1,105 people were in emergency shelters, transitional housing or safe havens.
The PIT count isn't fully accurate, as it doesn't include challenges reaching some populations, such as victims fleeing domestic violence, people living in cars and homeless youth.
You can view a breakdown of the results below:
Out of the total number of people experiencing homelessness, 40% of them experience chronic homelessness.
Despite a 19% decrease from 2025, the current need is higher than what the system is capable of, noting that 195 additional year-round emergency shelter or transitional housing beds are needed to meet the demand.
News5's Liv Wood spoke to homeless shelters in Downtown Colorado Springs to share their perspective on the results. You can read that story here.
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