Lexington officials say homelessness in the community has dropped by a quarter since 2014. The annual “point in time” count conducted each January shows chronic homelessness has been cut in half. Office of Homelessness Prevention and Intervention Director Charlie Lanter says ongoing efforts need to focus on housing shelter residents.
He says living in a homeless shelter is still considered homeless, “We’ve really had to put the emphasis on how do we help get people not just off the streets, but also out the shelter and into housing.”
Lanter says about $1.2 million in city funds over the past two years has been spent to help decrease homelessness. Much of that money is used for the “housing first” program from which 26 people are now in permanent housing.
While officials say homelessness has dropped 26% over the last two years, Vice Mayor Steve Kay says it’s not necessarily a given that the same reductions will be seen every year. Kay points to economics, mental health and addiction as factors. “To say we will eliminate all those problems that are basically feeding into homelessness would be to overstate the case,” Noted Kay.
Kay admits homeless numbers can fluctuate throughout the year. But he adds, when the January count numbers are declining, it’s fair to say progress is being made. ?
