During the May 24 broadcast of his 630 KHOW-AM show, Peter Boyles and frequent guest Bob Cote baselessly asserted that it was “a lie” that “Colorado's homeless population has ballooned to 16,000, and more than 60 percent are women, children, and families,” as reported in a May 24 Rocky Mountain News article by April M. Washington. In fact, a 2006 study released in February by the Colorado Interagency Council on Homelessness (CICH) and conducted by the University of Colorado at Denver and Health Sciences Center concluded that there were an estimated 16,000 homeless individuals in Colorado on the date of the survey and that 62.1 percent were in households with children.

Furthermore, the News reported in a March 5 article by Stuart Steers about the same study, “Colorado has 16,203 homeless residents on any given day.” The article also noted that "[m]ore than six in ten homeless persons are part of a household with children."

As the News reported on May 24, Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter (D) “signed an executive order Wednesday to reconvene a 20-member council on homelessness, saying it's the first step in building a case for increased state funding to assist the homeless with housing, health care, mental health and substance abuse treatment, among other needs." The article also noted that “Colorado's homeless population has ballooned to 16,000, and more than 60 percent are women, children and families, according to a recent survey.” Both Boyles and Cote called the statistics cited in the News article “a lie,” although neither one of them offered any evidence to contradict the News or the CICH study.

From the May 24 broadcast of 630 KHOW-AM's The Peter Boyles Show:

BOYLES: I don't know if you had the chance to see this “Ritter renews efforts to aid Colorado homeless” story.

COTE: I heard it yesterday.

BOYLES: Well, then, obviously they have not contacted you because it says, “Ritter signed an executive order on Wednesday to reconvene a 20-member council on homelessness.” Did they call you?

COTE: No. Why would they call me?

BOYLES: Well, here we go again. You know, that's right. Why ask you? You know nothing about this. “Ritter signs an executive order on Wednesday to reconvene a 20-member council on homelessness, saying it's the first step in building a case for increased state funding to assist the homeless with housing, health care, mental health, and substance abuse treatment.” Now, here's where, the paragraph above that rocket. Ritter, and he talks about his, his family and then he gets to this: “Colorado's homeless pop-” -- I'll read it to you. And this is without any caveats, the Rocky Mountain News writes this: “Colorado's homeless population has ballooned to 16,000, and more than 60 percent --

COTE: Yeah.

BOYLES: -- are, are women, children, and families.”

COTE: Yeah.

BOYLES: Now, that's a lie.

COTE: Well, sure it's a lie. Roxane White [manager of the Denver Department of Human Services] says alcohol- and drug-addicted are 13 percent. Where did she pick that number and where'd he get his?

BOYLES: Well, and, and the Rocky just says “according to a recent survey.” Doesn't cite the survey, it doesn't cite the source. But third paragraph in, and I immediately thought of you. Says the “Colorado's homeless population has ballooned to 16,000, and more than 60 percent are women, children, and families.” Well, that's a flat lie.

COTE: Sure, but they use it all the time because it's a heart-tugging term. You know, if you say Colorado's homeless population has jumped to 65 percent of the alcohol- and drug-addicted, you know, no one's going to put any money in their meters or send any money to the mayor for his 10-year plan. You know, but they say that women and children are starving.

While Boyles correctly noted that the May 24 News article “doesn't cite the source” of its information, the newspaper's March 5 article reported on the CICH survey in detail:

A state study released today estimated that Colorado has 16,203 homeless residents on any given day.

The study brought thousands of volunteers together to interview people in homeless shelters, campgrounds, motels and transitional housing around the state on August 28, 2006. It was the first statewide count of Colorado's homeless in 17 years.

Among the findings:

• Children and teens comprise one-third of Colorado's homeless.
• More than six in ten homeless persons are part of a household with children.
• One-quarter of families without any type of shelter includes children.
  

Further contradicting Boyles and Cote, the CICH survey found that "[n]early two-thirds (62.1%) of all homeless persons in Colorado are in households with children" and "[n]early three-quarters (70.8%) of the newly homeless were in households with children." The survey also noted:

The one consistent finding in all the research on homelessness is that surveys undercount the homeless. It is particularly difficult to count those homeless persons who are unsheltered. The total number of homeless individuals fluctuates over time. People who are homeless typically move in and out of homelessness as conditions in their life change.