An annual update from the Office of Homelessness Prevention and Intervention

In Tuesday, October 14th's Social Services and Public Safety (SSPS) Committee meeting, Jeff Herron, manager of the Office of Homelessness Prevention and Intervention (OHPI), will present an annual update on the office's work.

OHPI serves as a coordinator of homelessness services throughout Lexington. While OHPI does not provide direct services to homeless residents, it will connect homeless residents with shelters, services, programming, and other assistance that can help them secure care and shelter. OHPI also oversees the winter warming shelter that LFUCG has provided for homeless residents for the past several years.

OHPI also removes homeless encampments in Lexington.

• In Fiscal Year 2025 (FY25), OHPI conducted 22 encampment removals across the city.
• In total, those removals cost approximately $65.5k. The average cost per each removal was $2.9k.
  • The average cost for each removal in Fiscal Year 2024 was $1.8k, over $1k lower than FY25's average cost.
• Eight of the 22 removals in FY25 were in five "Emphasis Areas" in Lexington. The presentation slides do not mention where those five emphasis areas are located.

An Encampment Coordinator position was created in the FY26 Budget. This position will solely focus on the planning and implementation of encampment removals. Steve Gahafer was hired to fill this position and started on September 22nd.

OHPI is also in the early stages of creating a new five year Strategic Plan. This plan will set policy and program recommendations for LFUCG to implement as ways to prevent and address homelessness.

Lexington's homeless population grows from last year

Tuesday's presentation also shows the number of homeless residents in Lexington through the LexCount census.

LexCount is conducted over one night each January. City staff and volunteers go throughout the night to count and survey each unsheltered person they find.

The 2025 LexCount shows 925 homeless residents in Lexington; that's an increase of 100 people over 2024, and an increase of 332 people from 2021.

• The LexCount survey counts people who fit the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's (HUD) definition of "homeless." HUD's definition primarily includes people who are sleeping outdoors or are in an emergency shelter of some kind.
• You may see estimates of homeless residents from nonprofit or other governmental organizations that are much higher than LexCount's estimates, such as the Catholic Action Center's recent survey estimating roughly 3,000 Lexington residents are homeless.
  • Other organizations often use a different definition that includes a wider group of people, such as those who are temporarily staying with a friend or family member, or are spending money to stay in a hotel.