A public awareness campaign on the best ways to help homeless persons is in the early stages of development in Lexington. The campaign begins with a recommendation to not give cash to street corner solicitors.
Lexington Office of Homelessness Prevention and Intervention Director Charlie Lanter says giving money can be a way of supporting a drug or alcohol addiction. Lanter says such well-intended generosity can also serve to undermine existing agencies assisting the homeless. “Giving them cash may actually be keeping them on the streets,” says Lanter.
Lanter says one idea under consideration is a two-sided card with information for the homeless on one side. On the reverse would be tips for those who want to help. Lanter says the public awareness effort could also include messages inside and outside city buses.
The Lexington official says the plight of many people standing on street corners can create a difficult and emotional dilemma for passers-by, “When you pull up to a stop light, and you look in the eyes of someone, who you know has suffered, who has had a difficult life, who is having a difficult life right now, it’s very hard to look away.” “There’s something very human about it, that each of us wants to help that person,” noted Lanter.
Lanter says many of the homeless in the Lexington area are aware of emergency shelter and food centers in the bluegrass.?
