Time to Celebrate Success on Homelessness |

When is it time to take a moment to recognize progress?

I was reminded of this perennial question when having coffee with one of our elected officials the other day. We meet regularly with community leaders in an effort to make sure the folks that support us with scarce resources, especially taxpayer resources, are confident that we are treating that privilege with the respect it deserves: being effective, leveraging our expertise, acting with compassion, being innovative, and always keeping an eye on the data.

So, with All Roads' annual fundraising event at eTown, Rock the Shelter, coming up, I thought it was one of those times. (I’d love to see you there on 9/25 at eTown Hall -  here’s the link for tickets!)

Because it just so happens that the data on homelessness is looking really good right now.

The homeless count conducted annually across the County showed a 23% reduction in homeless adults in 2026 vs 2025. The City’s own unsheltered homeless count from this past July showed a 60% decrease from July of 2025. Turnaways at the All Roads Shelter for capacity reasons are down 80%. The number of people who have found exits from homelessness as a result of our efforts have increased by 38% year-to-date and the number of people entering our local homeless system is down 14% after being steady for years. All this translates to more people being helped and less impact on the community.

Why are things looking up?

An increase in resources in Denver and Aurora probably helps. This - coupled with the new All Roads policy that focuses our local resources on individuals with ties to Boulder, and the City’s reduced tolerance for camping - likely has an effect on homeless counts generally.

The amazing and dedicated All Roads team continues to get more effective at identifying interventions that lead our clients to a home. Like any practice, the more we focus on unearthing housing opportunities, the more we exercise that muscle, the more effective we become at fulfilling our mission to create avenues to housing.

Flattening or even lower regional rents means fewer people becoming homeless.

Ultimately, fewer people arriving from elsewhere seeking services, lower rents, and an increase in exits - especially among those with long service histories - likely leads to lower turnaways and a lower census.

But as a nation, we still face a fundamental problem: People with bad luck face fewer safety net resources now than any time in recent memory. Good news is hard to come by and that’s why social workers, while always fighting for victory, ultimately feel trapped in the first quarter. Rarely is there a moment when we get to spike the football and raise the trophy. But something good appears to be happening, suggesting we should stay the course. And perhaps even celebrate.  

For nearly a decade, homeless providers and our partners at the City and County have been slowly, patiently building and funding a homeless response system that you can trust, and getting people the help they need. This is a system based on data driven evidence, which applies what we have learned, is innovative, and is now getting results that, yes, we should celebrate.  More individuals are exiting homelessness … and the impacts of homelessness on the community are going down.

All Roads is just one provider in a network of dedicated elected officials, city and county staff, law enforcement, and other providers who are getting better at the work and getting better results. Are we stuck in the first quarter? Or are we approaching victory? I can’t honestly say. But the important thing is that we are honored to be trusted by the community to deliver for our community’s neediest neighbors and we will continue to honor that trust by being as effective as we can, striving to end homelessness for the individuals we serve and reduce the impacts of homelessness for our community.

Come help us celebrate at our Rock the Shelter event on September 25th, and let’s keep the wins coming!