LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX 18) — Organizations in Lexington are working to spread awareness about homelessness. Lexington's latest survey from late August showed a nearly 26% increase in the last year.
Commissioner for Housing Advocacy and Community Development Charlie Lanter Says, "I think we need to get out and talk to the people about that and help them understand what our community needs to do in order to better respond to homelessness."
Thursday, the Lexington Forum met to discuss the issue. The forum meets once a month to talk about what's impacting the area. Thursday morning they talked about resources that are available and how homelessness can be prevented.
Lanter asks, "As an advocate for policy what should I advocate for? What do we need? Do we need more shelters? Do we need more affordable housing? The answer is yes we need as much of that as possible, and so I like getting out and helping folks understand how they can help, which is they can help by advocating, they can help by showing their own compassion and empathy for the people that are out there because that makes our job easier as we try to help them."
Speakers included Lanter, the HOPE Center's David Shadd, and Lexington’s chief of police Lawrence Weathers -- who spoke about what law enforcement is doing.
Chief Weathers says, "It is important if they see somebody out there that is unhoused and struggling -- and it's important for them to know that they can call the police and maybe that might get the person heading in a direction that they need to go in."
The Safer Kentucky Act passed earlier this year, a piece of legislation that bans street camps. Weathers says when law enforcement does have to make arrest police work to get them help.
"If I can take you there and get you out of a cycle...and get you going into a different direction and i don't have to deal with you again, that's a win for everybody,” says Weathers.
The panel shared they're seeing more older and younger people become unhoused, and they're noticing more encampments around the city. Lexington is moving forward on affordable housing projects that could help.
Lanter says, "Housing ends homelessness. So, the more affordable housing we can develop, regardless of our homeless interventions at the homeless level for sheltering and other types of things -- those are all needed because they're an emergency response. But the solution is housing. So, the more affordable housing we build, the closer we get to a solution.”
