If we eliminated homelessness in Lexington, we’d have more money for our parks. | Opinion 

A Herald-Leader headline says the homeless population is up 26% to 3,000 from last year.

However, 1000 “homeless” live in the the federally funded Hope Center Complex as a drug treatment/halfway house of the local justice system, as well as homeless shelter. Now down to 2,000.

Also, approximately 400 public school students are listed as homeless even though they live with family members and friends.. This out of 42,000 students in k-12. Now down to 1,600.

The city lists only 500-800 as truly homeless by their stricter definition versus the Catholic Action Center’s definition. Thus by extrapolating the article, the remainder of the difference(800-1,100) must be living under the roofs of the Salvation Army for women and children and the Catholic Action Center.

The 500-800 truly homeless is a far cry from 3,000 not so homeless. Why would the article be so misleading? They want more of your tax money, of course.

Currently, LFUCG has budgeted $10 million(2%) the coming fiscal year. Up $8 million(400%) from the $2 million in 2014 when the city decided to get in the homeless business of holding the local taxpayer accountable for one’s poor choices, not the homeless or family members.

With the Loudon Avenue YMCA no longer allowing the temporary winter housing on their property for the truly homeless, the City is proposing sticking the local taxpayer with the bill of motel rooms for the homeless for the next six winter months.

I had proposed the temporary winter shelter be put on the city-owned property surrounding the jail out on Old Frankfort Pike. The advantages are:

1) Living out in the country and not having a car, the homeless would not have access all the city temptations that keep the homeless poor.

2) No longer having the option to sleep outside with the passage of the new state law banning outdoor encampments, the country-bored homeless would make amends with family members or get a cheap apt in town. Most have an income or can find work through labor-ready companies.

3) Billing surrounding county governments and/or immediate family members for their homeless citizens should not be ruled out. A possible bill owed to LFUCG all of a sudden brings many a family member in from the cold.

The current system lacks accountability for the can-kicking bureaucrats to fix the problem. On the contrary, the system rewards bureaucrats and homeless providers with more of your tax dollars and donations with misleading terms and too soft of an enabling policy.

‘Treat a man as he is and he will remain as he is. Treat a man as he could be and he will become what he should be.’ –Emerson.

Freeing up $8-10 million in homeless money could be used to repair our parks, eliminating the need for another dedicated tax.

Imagine how much more money could be freed up if we reviewed budget items outside the purview of local government.

Ike Lawrence is local housing provider. He is an advocate for eliminating homelessness and for parks upkeep without a dedicated tax.

This story was originally published October 25, 2024 at 10:58 AM.