4 days ago
Jessamine County defies state trend with fewer unsheltered homeless people
NICHOLASVILLE, Ky. (FOX 56) — Leaders at the Jessamine County Homeless Coalition said they are taking the small wins wherever they can get them.
The Jessamine County Homeless Coalition posted to Facebook on Sunday to thank the community.
The post included data from the Kentucky Housing Corporation, which indicated that unsheltered homelessness in Jessamine County went down by about 33% over the past year, and in Lexington, it's down by around 18%.
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There was an increase, though, in unsheltered homelessness in Louisville (+6.4%) and in the Balance of State (BoS), which includes rural and non-urban areas (+25%).
Statewide, homelessness is reportedly up by 10.7%, while unsheltered homelessness is greater. It saw an increase of 16.4% from 2024 to 2025.
Johnny Templin, Executive Director of the Jessamine County Homeless Coalition said, 'You just got to shine a spotlight on what you can, and that's a positive. There's less people that we could find living in unsheltered environments, regardless of the situation here. And we're here for those individuals.'
Templin said the reason the numbers are down in his part of the state is a two-fold issue.
The first is positive, due to the way the community has stepped up, allowing the shelter to do a lot with a little.
Templin said, 'This is all done by the goodness and generosity of our community and the heart of our volunteers putting in.'
The second is more negative.
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Templin told FOX 56 that it's due to House Bill 5, which criminalizes street camping. The bill was passed last year, and Templin believes it forced many people experiencing homelessness into hiding.
'These individuals are now, where they were closer to a shelter like us, to where they could get resources and stay alive, if you will—they have now scattered to avoid persecution and going to jail for their situation,' Templin said.
Despite the challenges, Templin said the fight isn't over, and even small steps forward are worth celebrating. In Jessamine County, those steps are starting to add up.
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