A Lexington task force recommends the city open its winter homeless shelter year-round and expand it to include more services to address the needs of the city’s growing population of unhoused residents.
In 2025, Lexington counted 925 residents experiencing homelessness, according to an EHI Consultants study commissioned by the city. That’s an increase of around 12% from the year prior and about 34% since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The same study found Lexington needs more permanent, accessible shelters. In response, the city launched an anti-homelessness task force last year and opened the seasonal shelter.
That panel returned its recommendations Monday, including proposals to expand the shelter off Versailles Road and keep the doors open. This would better accommodate families, the disabled and those older than 55, officials said.
“Because [the population] has evolved, and we're seeing it more in the working class and in the families, that requires a different type of solution to be able to accommodate those kids and families,” Commissioner of Housing Advocacy and Community Development Charlie Lanter said at a Monday news conference in Lexington’s downtown city headquarters. “And so that's what we're looking to do over on Versailles Road, as well. And seniors, too.”
The task force estimates the cost of expanding the shelter would be around $25 million. It currently has 216 beds and is open from November through April.
According to city documents, $2.8 million has already been allocated toward the shelter from the government’s fund balance.
The task force also recommends the city spend $2.2 million in opioid settlement funds and $10 million through the federal government’s Section 108 loan program, plus put in a request for state funding and look for private fundraisers.
Other recommendations delivered by the task force Monday include establishing a mobile intake and triage system for those in need and:
- Maintaining the 1306 Versailles Road campus as a temporary, seasonal shelter.
- Building strategies that keep people from entering emergency shelters where possible.
- Establishing an independent advisory group to review implementation, identify challenges and make sure task force recommendations come to fruition.
Lanter said the plan is to eventually centralize triage services as the Versailles Road campus expands.
“One of the questions the task force wrestled with is, if someone says I'm homeless in Lexington, where do I go? The answer right now really is, well, it's complicated,” he said. “You know, it's, ‘I need to know more about your situation. I need to know, are you male, female, kids, age, medical situation, mental situation.’”
City officials plan to take proposals from service providers interested in operating the campus year-round after expansion is complete.
“Our office has already started writing a request for proposal for that Versailles Road site, just to accept proposals from potential operators and say, ‘Hey, if we had this land available for a homeless campus to serve the following people, what would you do with it?’ so that'll kind of be the next step,” Lanter said. “We hope to get that out by the end of the year.
The Lexington-Fayette Urban County Council, which will have final say over approving any funding, will review the recommendations at its work session Tuesday.
