Lexington, KY – “What should our community think about, know about, and do in order to best address the opportunities and challenges presented by homelessness?” This is the central question being raised by Mayor Jim Gray’s Commission on Homelessness in an “Open-Space” process that got underway in late August.
The commission, established in July, includes 120 members representing a variety of perspectives. Constituencies range from neighbors, churches, concerned residents, business leaders, neighborhood leaders and council members to advocates for people who are homeless, and homeless people themselves.
Co-chaired by at-large councilmember Steve Kay and former councilmember and businesswoman Debra Hensley, the commission is to report its findings to Gray sometime in January and, as a result of the Open-Space format, there should be plenty of fingerprints on the final draft.
Also known as the “unconference,” the Open-Space meeting format is similar to a public forum but invites participants themselves to define the agenda and adjust it as the meeting proceeds.
A grid of 24 blocks of time – each with a designated room – is listed on a sign in a main gathering area. Individuals (or groups) can propose a subject pertaining to the primary topic and secure a space on the grid from which they can discuss it. Subjects at the first forum ranged from “controlling a person unfairly” to “community services for those with serious mental illness.”
“It’s very organized, but organized by the people who come,” said Kay, the commission’s chair who spearheaded the forum. “And you’ve got the ‘law of two feet’ which basically says if you’re not in the right place –if it’s not working for you, you’re not contributing, you’re not learning – then pick yourself up and take yourself where you need to be.”
Approximately 100 area residents pre-registered for the event, with about an 80-percent attendance rate. At the end of the day each group shared its results and notes with the forum’s general population. Those findings were presented to the 36-person commission, which will create a report to turn into Gray by January 15.
After it was established, more than 120 people expressed interest in serving on the commission. Kay – whose career away from politics sees him facilitate meetings in both the private and public sectors – said a body that size would have been unrealistic, but input from that many individuals would provide a multitude of viewpoints and suggestions from a wide range of experience with regard to homelessness. He said the Open Space” forum allows all those who couldn’t be officially named to the commission, as well as those who have an interest in the homelessness issue, to have their say and make an imprint on the final report.
“We wanted to make sure people didn’t feel like they were excluded, even though we couldn’t have a commission of more than 120 people,” Kay said. “This is our first attempt to get public input in as open a manner as possible. … We want to make sure that anybody and everybody that cares about this issue has had the opportunity to be heard and we’re going to include as much of that (in the report) as we can.”
As the executive director of the Homeless and Housing Coalition of Kentucky, Frances Alvis is involved in every area of the state when it comes to homeless issues. So it’s no surprise she had no apprehension and instead felt a responsibility to attend the first Open Space forum held Aug. 25 at Calvary Baptist Church to discuss Lexington’s homeless situation and ways to alleviate it.
But Alvis, who has been involved in community development since 1989, gave the impression that even she was feeling her way around the unique Open space system.
“This is a unique format,” Alvis said. “I’ve never been involved from the very first meeting, I’ve always seemed to come in on the tail-end of things. But this is a unique format they’ve got here and I think it can be very effective.”