LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX 18) — Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, Lexington city officials say there has been a steady increase in homelessness.
“Our count shows yes,” said Charlie Lanter, commissioner of housing advocacy. “It’s trending up nationwide, it’s trending up statewide, it’s trending up in Lexington.”
However, Lanter says, it’s the demographic that’s emerging that’s the most concerning.
“What we’re seeing is a couple of different things we’ve not seen before, we’re seeing more families, more families with children,” said Lanter.
He calls that “situational homelessness.” He described it as something like a lost job, a large unexpected bill, or losing transportation that pushes someone to pick up a sign and panhandle.
“We tend to make assumptions that someone holding a sign is homeless, that’s not always true, sometimes someone has fallen on hard times and they just don’t know what else to do,” said Lanter.
Lanter says panhandling is not illegal in Kentucky, although many people think it is. It’s only illegal if the person is impeding the flow of traffic or is causing other issues.
“We obviously don’t recommend that you give them money, people are going to do it and we can’t stop them, all I can do is tell you there is no guarantee that your money won’t be used for something other than what is intended,” said Lanter. “A lot of us want to do something, we want to help and we want to stop what’s causing it, and the best way we can do that is support and advocate for them and their needs.”
He says their needs are affordable housing and the best way to help is to get involved with local nonprofits, churches, or any organization who has an outreach mission.
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