Update from Office of Homelessness Prevention and Intervention
In last week’s Social Services and Public Safety (SSPS) Committee Meeting, Homelessness Prevention Manager Jeff Heron presented the office’s annual update on their work.
Lexington’s Office of Homelessness Prevention and Intervention (OHPI) does not provide direct service for homeless Lexingtonians. Instead, they work to coordinate services among several providers and help homeless residents access the services they need.
OHPI also performs cleanups of homeless encampments in Lexington.
In Fiscal Year 2024 (FY24), OHPI conducted 28 encampment cleanups at an average cost of $1,850 per cleanup.
Homeless residents were only present at 9 of those cleanups.
9 people contacted during cleanups chose to participate in social services to address homelessness, with 4 of them ending up in permanent housing.
8 people declined services.
OHPI conducts the annual LexCount survey, which attempts to determine how many homeless residents there are in Lexington.
The 2024 LexCount, conducted in January of this year, estimated that there are 825 homeless Lexingtonians.
In 2023, Council passed an ordinance requiring that .3% of the City’s General Fund revenue be dedicated to OHPI. In the Fiscal Year 2025 (FY25) budget, the OHPI office received $1.4 million, nearly double what they had been allocated in past fiscal years.
There was no specific mention in the presentation of new initiatives resulting from the increase in funding for OHPI.
During his time answering Council’s questions, Herron pointed out that their funding has restrictions that prevent long-term investment in any initiative, which has been a barrier for some of the office’s efforts and goals such as pursuing permanent supportive housing.
Herron also outlined OHPI’s plan for winter sheltering this year. Last year, the City operated a winter emergency shelter in partnership with the North Lexington YMCA on Loudon Ave. The YMCA has decided not to host the shelter again, and the Hope Center claims they cannot help run a shelter in a farther away location.
OHPI plans to reserve a cluster of rooms in various motels to hold as spaces for homeless individuals and families. The number of rooms that will be available isn’t finalized yet, but Herron expects to have at least 95+ rooms.
In Council Work Session — which followed the SSPS Committee meeting —SSPS Committee Chair Jennifer Reynolds placed an item into the Committee to examine potentially hiring an Encampment Coordinator position and hiring street outreach workers to help assist Lexington’s homeless population. Currently, street outreach is provided by partner agency nonprofits, not by the City itself.
You can view the presentation slides starting on page four of this packet.
