What is Lexington doing to address homelessness? Council gets an overview this week
On Tuesday, Council’s Social Services and Public Safety (SSPS) Committee will receive an annual update from the Office of Homelessness Prevention and Intervention (OHPI).
The office coordinates, funds, and manages Lexington’s homelessness response system to assist housing insecure individuals with resource navigation and crisis planning. They also lead strategic planning, public policy advocacy, and community engagement to build equitable solutions to homelessness.
This year, the OHPI’s report says that over $8 million has been invested in the city’s efforts to address homelessness. This is allocated through $2.7 million in federal HUD Continuum of Care (CoC) Program grants, $2.01 million for local emergency shelter operations, $2 million for winter weather response, and $1.65 million through the Innovative and Sustainable Solutions Fund.
A new Encampment Coordinator position was filled this year, and the role improved the city’s ability to track encampment costs, clean up encampments, address complex issues that involve multiple divisions, and generate positive outcomes for residents.
You can learn more by reviewing the presentation here, or comparing this year’s update with last year’s CivicLex report.
The presentation explains that 41 cleanups across 37 unique locations were conducted in FY26. Improved tracking and cross-division coordination drove the average cleanup cost down by 25%, to $2,234.70, compared to FY25.
FY26 has also seen substantial improvements in street outreach and homelessness diversion, driven by program expansion and targeted financial relief.
The Hope Center Street Outreach Team connected with over 580 people in the past year. This led to a 59% exit rate to housing destinations, averaging 10 permanent housing placements per month. Also, the city’s Housing Flex Fund provided flexible financial aid to people facing housing insecurity, which diverted 119 households from entering homelessness and helped 48 households secure permanent housing.
Lexington’s homeless population, however, is still growing.
The 2026 LexCount details that 968 people are currently experiencing homelessness in Lexington, which is up from FY25’s count of 925.
Looking ahead, OHPI will adopt the recommendations presented by the Mayor’s Task Force on Homelessness as its official strategic roadmap. The plan details 5 priority recommendations and 15 longer-term goals to improve the city’s homelessness response system.