Local agencies from across the Commonwealth are taking part in the state's annual homeless count. Current data show both good and bad news.
Curtis Stauffer, director of the Homeless and Housing Coalition of Kentucky, says overall, homelessness numbers have been relatively steady the past few years. However, Stauffer says there's been a rise in homelessness due to economic woes. "There's definitely an increase in family homelessness and what is more commonly termed ‘economic homelessness,’ where folks are homeless for reasons other than say mental health issues or drug and alcohol addiction, but truly economic homelessness," said Stauffer.
On the up side, Stauffer says there have been some declines in the number of displaced veterans. "For some constituencies, especially given the work of the Veterans Administration and HUD, homelessness for veterans is decreasing,” added Stauffer. “And actually, this Thursday the governor will be signing a proclamation making it a goal of the state to end veteran homelessness by 2016."
There are teams in six rural regions taking part in the count, plus K-Count workers in Louisville and Lexington. "A lot of folks especially in our more rural areas, the smaller cities who are homeless are sort of hidden from view, so it takes volunteers and service providers who are very knowledgeable about where those folks might be staying to find them and identify them and get data on them to supply to Kentucky Housing Corporation," explained Stauffer.
Statewide homeless figures are expected by the end of April.?
