That shelter, off Versailles Road, includes showers, areas for recreation and dining, accommodations for pets and access to support services and medical care.
Jeff Herron manages Lexington’s Office of Homelessness Prevention and Intervention. He says it’s meant to create a more stable solution for those in need of shelter.
“It just creates a whole host of opportunities for long term interventions and solutions that we would not have without this kind of a space,” Herron said. “Even with a hotel based model, it would be a lot harder to conduct the kinds of care and services that we plan for this site. You can't do that inside someone's hotel room.”
The accommodations were made according to what Lexington saw during peak demand last winter.
“Eventually, what we would like to see is the addition of permanent beds within our system that would reduce the need for this kind of a response, or at the very least reduce it to a much more nominal level of additional beds that are created each year.”
Charlie Lanter, Lexington’s Commissioner of Housing Advocacy and Community Development, says the city would need 500 permanent beds by 2030 to address the city’s need, projecting a population of 1,082 unhoused. The demographics of Lexington’s unhoused population have also changed since COVID, accounting for more couples and families.
“Part of that involves looking at what additional permanent shelter needs might be, but also increasing opportunities for things like transitional housing and permanent housing,” Lanter said.
The Versailles Road shelter is meant for individuals. The city recommends families and couples in need reach out to nonprofits like the Salvation Army or Catholic Action Center. The seasonal shelter will be open through April 1.
