Lexington’s homeless population has increased to 925 from 800. That’s what members of Mayor Linda Gorton’s homelessness task force will try to address.
Charlie Lanter is the commissioner of housing advocacy. At Wednesday’s meeting of the task force, he said that who’s homeless in Lexington has changed.
“Homelessness today is trending toward women with children, families, couples, people with pets,” he said. “Everything I just named, we do not have a shelter designed to take.”
When Lexington’s homelessness support system was built in the 1980s and 1990s, Lanter said, the population was largely unaccompanied men.
He attributed COVID-19 to bringing about some of the changes. Still, addiction, domestic abuse, disability, and mental illness remain factors.
Gorton convened the task force based on a June study on homelessness in the community.
The panel includes civic, business, and religious leaders.
