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According to a survey by homeless organizations, the number of homeless people in Lexington has risen to more than 3,000. That’s a 26 percent increase from last year.
The community count, conducted Aug. 28 by the Central Kentucky Housing and Homeless Initiative and the Street Voice Council, which includes homeless people, is significantly higher than the city’s annual count, which counted just 825 homeless people in January.
The city’s count follows guidelines from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, while the community survey includes several populations not included in those guidelines — people in jails, motels, hospitals, and drug and alcohol treatment programs
Last year, the same community survey found 2,410 homeless people in Lexington. The number of people living outside also grew from 398 last year to 505 this year.
“There’s a whole story behind these numbers,” Ginny Ramsey, executive director of the Catholic Action Center, said at a news conference Wednesday at Legends Field. “We’re not surprised that the numbers have gone up. We’re sad.”
Advocates say a more complete picture is needed as the city heads into the colder winter months and a nationwide ban on outdoor sleeping went into effect in July.
“We want our city to be prepared for winter,” Ramsey said.
The Street Survey also asked whether homeless people were harassed because they lived or stayed outside. House Bill 5, a major crime bill passed by the Kentucky General Assembly earlier this year, made outdoor camping illegal.
About 233 people, or 35% of respondents, said they had been harassed for sleeping outside. Of those 233 respondents, 78% said they had been harassed by the police.
Charlie Lanter, Lexington’s housing advocacy and community development commissioner, said the community includes nearly 1,000 people enrolled in recovery programs that do not meet HUD’s definition of homelessness.
It’s also unclear whether some people were counted more than once. The city makes sure during the annual count that people aren’t counted multiple times, he said.
“Unfortunately, we have not yet received this information in detail. Without this information, we are questioning some of the data, especially compared to the annual LexCount (the city census), which offers full transparency regarding the methodology and which people and organizations are counted,” Lanter said. “Given the mobility of this population, it is crucial that counts carried out during the day carefully avoid duplication.”
Is House Bill 5 the cause of the increase?
Jarred Paull, co-chair of the Central Kentucky Housing and Homeless Initiative, a group of homeless service providers and community leaders, said many homeless people were hesitant to talk to the community groups conducting the counts because of the ban on outdoor camping that went into effect July 15.
That means the group likely overlooked many homeless people, he said.
“They wanted to talk to someone who was homeless,” Paull said.
The city has acknowledged that the community count includes more people than the official HUD count, but advocates said Wednesday that the difference is not the point.
“The most important part of the discussion is what are we going to do about it,” said Laura Babbage, chaplain at the Catholic Action Center. “What are we going to do to prepare for the adults and children who need a warm place to sleep?”
According to TC Cobble Johnson, who oversees the school district’s homeless program, there were 455 children homeless in Fayette County Public Schools on Wednesday.
About 80 percent of these children and their families live with other relatives or friends, Cobble-Johnson said.
“We’re looking at how we can support our families,” Cobble-Johnson said.
John Landon, an attorney, said he is not surprised that the number of homeless people continues to rise. He fears that House Bill 5 will push homeless people from rural areas into Kentucky’s larger cities, such as Lexington, Louisville, Covington and Bowling Green.
“House Bill 5 has made it harder for communities to address homelessness systemically,” Landon said.
Most of the funding for homeless shelters comes from local taxpayers, he said. That means Fayette County residents will likely foot the bill for homeless shelters for surrounding counties, he said.
Landon says people come to Lexington for mental health or addiction treatment, but end up in jail, shelters or on the streets of Fayette County.
“We’re suddenly going to be spending a lot more of our tax base on this particular problem,” Landon said. “I suggest we look at how many people are being moved from rural areas to urban areas so we can get the most cost sharing (from surrounding counties).”
Need for more shelter beds as winter approaches
The city is conducting a homeless needs assessment to determine whether another shelter is needed, a study expected to be completed in 2025, city officials said.
The city provides money to three large shelters: The Hope Center, which houses mostly men; The Salvation Army, which houses women and children; and Arbor Youth, which houses young people.
The Catholic Action Center shelter on Industry Road does not receive any funding from the city.
The city has spent $44 million on various homeless services and programs over the past five years, officials said. That amount includes federal funding for coronavirus relief.
“We remain committed to making homelessness rare, brief, and nonrecurring,” Lanter said. “Unfortunately, today’s report fails to recognize the important work being done every day by countless individuals and organizations in Lexington who work to support those in need.”
According to city data, the city has about 568 year-round homeless shelter beds. That number grew to more than 861 thanks to Hope Village, a temporary shelter built on the grounds of the YMCA on Loudon Avenue, across from the Hope Center.
Lexington-Fayette Urban County Councilwoman Tayna Fogle said Wednesday that the city will house people in hotels this winter instead of a temporary shelter. City officials have said they have been unable to find a property willing to house a temporary shelter this winter.
Fogle said Wednesday she is frustrated that the city is not providing more money for shelters and housing.
“We are in a state of emergency because we are dealing with human lives,” Fogle said. “Let us do the work we were elected to do.”
