An update on LFUCG's street outreach and homeless encampment strategy

In Tuesday, January 13th’s Social Services & Public Safety Committee meeting, Jeff Herron, the city's Homelessness Prevention Manager, will present an update on the city’s street outreach services and homeless encampment response.

Street Outreach Services

Lexington’s street outreach services are mobile, community-based supports that connect those who are homeless with needed resources like shelter, housing, and healthcare. The city’s program is managed through a contract with The Hope Center.

Street outreach services specifically target individuals who are unlikely to seek assistance on their own by meeting people where they are — on the streets and in parks, vehicles, and encampments. Part of the goal of the street outreach team is to build trust with homeless individuals through consistent and repeated engagement.

The street outreach team has grown and changed a lot since it launched as a pilot in 2016:

• Hope Center pilot (2016-2019): $75,000 annually, targeting 40 contacts per year
• Community Action Council (2019-2023): $280,000 annually with expanded case management, targeting 110 contacts per year
• Current program (2023-present): Hope Center receives $316,640 per year, targeting 60 unique contacts monthly

Since August 2023, the program has made contact with 809 individuals and has seen some success with contacted individuals:

• Over 29% moved to positive housing destinations
• 32% enrolled in intensive case management
• 63% of those in intensive case management moved to permanent housing

Encampment Response

Homeless encampments are locations where people set up temporary living spaces, often in parks, under bridges, along roadsides, or on vacant properties. Between FY23 and FY25, the city’s cost to remove these encampments has almost doubled, from $1,510 per removal to $2,979.

These costs are mostly being driven up by the implementation costs of Kentucky House Bill 5, in addition to shelter capacity issues in Lexington and barriers to accessing shelter.

• House Bill 5, passed in 2024, criminalized the act of ‘street camping’ or possessing ‘camping paraphernalia’ like sleeping bags and introduced harsher punishments for homeless individuals who were repeat violent offenders.

In September 2025, the city created and filled a new position designed to respond to the costs of encampment removal.

The city says the position has led to more efficiencies in street outreach services and helped it navigate more challenging encampment situations. Some situations can involve multiple LFUCG departments, including Police, Code Enforcement, and Environmental Services.

Later this month, the city will launch the Hope Center Downtown Outreach Team with expanded clinical supports and part-time weekend coverage, increasing focus on downtown.

The city will release a request for proposals later this year to re-bid street outreach services when the current contract expires July 31, 2026.