Beginning January 27th – February 4th, 2026, a coalition of Chaffee County organizations and volunteers coordinated by the Chaffee Housing Authority and Chaffee Hospitality will participate in the nationally coordinated Point in Time (PIT) Count in association with the Colorado Balance of State Continuum of Care (BoS CoC).

The PIT Count is conducted annually in communities across the United States and occurs on the same night of the year. The purpose is to improve community understanding of the unique needs and circumstances of people in Chaffee County who are affected by homelessness. “Homelessness takes many forms”, stated Marjo Curgus, Executive Director of the Chaffee Housing Authority. “You can be fully employed and live in your car, for example, or living in an RV without hookups. These situations are incredibly important for our county to be aware of and quantify. For many, it only takes one health, financial or personal crisis to end up unhoused.”

The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) defines homelessness for the PIT Count as an individual or family who lacks a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence. This includes people living in places without running water or electricity such as a vehicle or shed or places intended for temporary stays paid for by someone other than the individual or family including shelters and hotels/motels. Coordinators are asking all community members currently meeting this definition to participate in the count to ensure the full spectrum of Chaffee County residents’ challenges with housing are understood and included in the data collection.

This data from the count also plays an important part in federal funding allocation to Colorado. In November, the Trump Administration announced changes to how HUD would distribute federal funds for homelessness. The Colorado Attorney General joined a multistate lawsuit that resulted in a stay of the funding change. These changes would have resulted in significant cuts to funding for Colorado and resulted in closure of many Western Slope and Front Range organizations operating emergency shelters and housing services to address homelessness.

On the night of January 27th, trained volunteers and organization staff will first survey individuals who are staying in shelters/motels and otherwise unsheltered. Coordinators are asking that community members experiencing unsheltered homelessness who are in cars be willing to participate in the survey as well. On the night of January 27th, CHA is organizing an outreach event for people currently experiencing homelessness from 4 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at the

parking lot at the end of F Street. Volunteers will be there to distribute information to people currently homeless about the purpose of the count, how to be included in the survey, and if they prefer, to complete the survey that evening. The survey is very short and takes less than 5 minutes. In the days following, surveys will be conducted at locations across the county where people may gather to receive support services.

Results from the PIT Count will be made publically available on the State of Colorado Continuum of Care website and the results of the PIT Count will help inform Chaffee County’s revision to the 2022 Housing Needs Assessment. Collaborating partners including Chaffee Housing Authority, Chaffee Hospitality, Public Health, Sol Vista, Buena Vista and Salida School Districts, the Alliance for Domestic Violence, Sheriff’s Co-Response, churches and all community food security providers, and many more will use the results to improve the county’s response to homelessness.

The PIT Count relies on volunteers to help conduct the county. If you are interested in volunteering to support the count for the night of and for shifts in the days following call (719) 920-3497or email . Volunteer times vary but are generally 2 hours long. Volunteers must be willing to watch the 1-hour webinar training prior to January 27th on how to administer the app based survey.

For more information about the PIT:

  • ●  2026 BoS PIT Count Information & Resources
  • ●  2025 BoS PIT Count Data
  • ●  2025 Colorado State of Homelessness Report
  • ●  2025 National Data on the State of Homelessness
  • ●  2025 Point In Time by County
  • Contact information
  • For Sheltered Other and Unsheltered Laura Thompson, Housing Navigator Chaffee Housing Authority 719-920-3497
  • For Sheltered at CHI Warming Shelter Barbara Martinez Chaffee Hospitality,