Denver is solving homelessness. Why aren't the rest of us?

Since 2023, Denver's street homeless population has decreased by 64%, proving that effective tools exist to support those in need of housing.

1 minute read

October 14, 2026, 7:00 AM PDT

By Christine McLaren

The Elati Village tiny home community has been part of Denver's strategy to reduce street homelessness to zero. | Denvergov.org

In 2025, Denver, Colorado's rate of street homelessness dropped 13 times faster than the rest of the country. Since 2023, their unsheltered population is down 64 percent. “What they’re doing is working,” Samantha Batko, a senior fellow at the Urban Institute told the New York Times. So what is stopping the rest of the country?

That is the subject of an in-depth op-ed feature in the NYT this week, detailing the intricacies of the policies and programs that have led to Denver's success today.

"Since Mayor Mike Johnston of Denver took office in 2023, he has focused on getting unsheltered homelessness to zero. He has done so by using some fairly standard ideas. Police officers break up homeless encampments, warning that repeated violations could lead to arrest. With the help of social workers, the city connects those people to services and shelters. Crucially, it has expanded those services to ensure that officers and social workers have something to connect people to," writes German Lopez in the NYT.

"By successfully combining enforcement and social services, Denver demonstrates that cities don’t need to choose between those binaries. They should do both."

Read the full story: We Know How to Fix Homelessness. Why Don’t More Cities Do It?

Tuesday, October 13, 2026 in New York Times

Housing Colorado Homeless Denver

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