Nonprofit Hope COS plans additional homeless shelter
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Hope COS is pitching plans to open Colorado Springs' second permanent, year-round emergency shelter for adults experiencing homelessness.
Why it matters: The effort acknowledges the area's homeless population is growing and is increasingly difficult to address, even as Mayor Yemi Mobolade touts his administration's work on the issue.
State of play: Hope COS operates an emergency shelter in the winter when temperatures fall below 20 degrees, but the need for a full-time operation is becoming more evident, the Gazette reports.
- Plans call for sleeping areas, showers, laundry facilities, a commercial kitchen, secure storage, space for pets and rooms where partner organizations could provide on-site services.
What they're saying: "There's a lot of momentum around this project," Melissa Oskin Wallace, Hope COS' founder and executive director, told the Gazette.
By the numbers: The county has 610 shelter beds and 610 transitional housing beds, leaving it short of demand.
- The annual tally reported 7,078 people experiencing homelessness in the Pikes Peak region in 2025; the need for services increased 19% last year.
The big picture: Hope COS has converted churches and other temporary spaces into emergency shelters for the previous three winters, primarily at the Sanctuary church on West Colorado Avenue.
- It averages about 90 people who stay overnight.
What's next: The nonprofit is launching a fundraising campaign that seeks $4.5 million for the project, most of which would go toward buying and renovating a building in the southeastern part of the city.
- If successful, the facility may open by late 2027.