LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX 18) — Lexington is grappling with a growing homelessness crisis as the city reported 925 people experiencing homelessness this year, up from 825 last year. In response, city leaders have formed a new task force that held its first meeting to develop strategies for addressing the 100-person increase.
Gregory Searight, who is experiencing homelessness himself, serves as a voice for those living on the streets as part of the mayor's new task force. His perspective challenges common misconceptions about who becomes homeless and why.
"If you ain't never been homeless, you don't know how it is. It's a whole different world out there," Searight said. "I used to look in trash cans for food, it's not fun."
Searight's homelessness began after a personal tragedy, not addiction, as many assume.
"Sometimes there's just like a misconceived idea of who is homeless, why they're homeless," Searight said. "I became homeless because my wife passed."
Charlie Lanter, an advisory member on the task force and LFUCG staff member, explained that the city's homeless population has evolved significantly since the current support system was created in the 1980s and 1990s.
"The problem is homelessness today is trending toward women with children, families, couples, people with pets. Everything I just named, we do not have a shelter designed to take," Lanter said.
The task force plans to study successful models from other cities rather than starting from scratch.
"We don't want to reinvent the wheel," said Mayor Linda Gorton.
"Because you can spend millions of dollars on homeless solutions and waste your time and your money if you do it wrong," Lanter added.
The group will also examine existing local programs that show promise, such as Taylor Made's stable recovery program, which helps people struggling with addiction find employment. The goal is to help people not just find housing, but build stable homes.
"We are going to examine the return on investment," Canter said.
Despite the challenges ahead, Searight remains committed to advocating for the homeless community.
"The first meeting here, everything looks good on paper, but it ain't good," Searight said. "I ain't never give up myself. I'm never gonna give up on none of these homeless people."
The task force represents a new approach to addressing homelessness in Lexington.
