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By Diane Fleet, Assistant Director of Greenhouse17 and Chair of the Mayor’s Taskforce on Homelessness
A safe home is the foundation of our sense of well-being. Sadly, more than 925 people are unhoused in Lexington, and many more are housing insecure. A recent study by EHI Consultants identified that Lexington has close to 500 emergency beds, but actually needs closer to 1,000. The study also noted that the trend of families, seniors and people with disabilities needing assistance is growing. Psychologist Abraham Maslow first proposed his theory of a Hierarchy of Needs in the 1940s identifying shelter as a basic physiological need for survival, along with food, air, sleep and water. It’s imperative that we treat safe shelter not as a hope but as a requirement for everyone.
As chair of the Mayor’s Taskforce on Homelessness, I am working with partners from across the city to identify and alleviate the drivers of housing insecurity in Lexington. As the taskforce responds to inadequate shelter space, it is important to understand the cause. Too often, we look at human failings as the root cause. But for most people, rents and housing prices are too high, and incomes are not keeping up. Add to that a life-altering event such as an illness or divorce, along with minimal social support, and a family can quickly find themselves without a home. For example, when looking at a senior receiving a social security check of only $900 per month, the math becomes clear. This person would not be able to afford rent, food, phone, medicine and transportation without assistance.
At its core, the Mayor’s Taskforce is charged with making recommendations to meet the needs of our most vulnerable. We are hoping it creates conversations that will lift up the need for safe and affordable housing, first-time home ownership, living wage and paid time off, and employee/employer mentoring that assists people successfully entering the workforce. Preventing people from needing to enter shelters is always the goal. But when they do, we must provide supportive services to help them overcome their life traumas. The paths to homelessness look very different for families, seniors, youth, able-bodied individuals or persons with emotional or physical disabilities. But I do know that whatever path they have been on, it was fraught with hardship.
I am asking you to support the initiatives that care for our most vulnerable, that support the investment in safe neighborhoods and affordable housing, and that encourage our workplaces and employees to work together in new and supportive ways. Homelessness is not an individual problem. It is a community concern, and how we respond is a reflection on who we are as a community.
If you would like to support our work, you can contribute to the Blue Grass Community Foundation’s Lex End Homelessness Fund (lexendhomelessness.com).