Lexington to set aside $400,000 to help house homeless Fayette County students, families

The Lexington council gave initial approval Tuesday to set aside $400,000 to help find or keep housing for Fayette County Public Schools students and their families experiencing homelessness.

The Lexington-Fayette Urban County Council voted unanimously Tuesday to move forward a contract for $400,000 for Goodwill Industries to provide first month’s rent and a deposit for families of FCPS students who have been identified as homeless.

“FCPS will refer its homeless families who have some income to Goodwill who will work with them to find housing and pay the deposit and first month’s rent. The added benefit is they’ll get all the employment supports and other programming available through Goodwill,” said Charlie Lanter, commissioner of Housing Advocacy and Community Development.

Lanter said the city choose Goodwill because Fayette County school system already had a working relationship with the organization.

In addition to the $400,000 to house Fayette County school students, the council also approved $200,000 for mediation services through Legal Aid of the Bluegrass to represent Lexington-Fayette County Housing Authority tenants who are facing eviction. The money comes from interest on federal coronavirus relief funding to keep people housed during the pandemic.

“This has proven an extremely effective and affordable program that keeps people from losing their homes with the Housing Authority,” Lanter said.

The city set aside funding to provide lawyers to people facing eviction. Studies show if tenants have lawyers, many times an eviction can be avoided. Tenants with past court-ordered evictions face a much tougher time finding landlords who will rent to them. An eviction from federal housing authority properties can make it nearly impossible for a person to find a new rental property, Lanter and other housing advocates have said.

The funding will be spread out over the current and next fiscal year, which begins July 1.

The city has spent $53 million in federal funds to keep people from being evicted during the coronavirus pandemic. That money went directly to landlords and was exhausted last year.

In addition, the city set aside millions of dollars from federal American Rescue Act funding for affordable housing and other homeless programs.

How many kids are homeless?

Fayette County Public School spokesperson Dia Davidson-Smith declined to answer questions about the current number of students who are considered homeless or how much money the school system receives in federal funding for homeless students, which is commonly called McKinney-Vento funding. McKinney-Vento is a federal competitive grant to help local school districts provide educational and other services to local school districts.

The Kentucky Department of Education, which administers McKinney-Vento funding, said Fayette County receives limited funding through the grant program.

The total amount of federal funding for the current year is $176,897, said a spokesperson for the department.

That money can’t be used to house students.

In the 2022-23 school year, the latest data available, the number of FCPS students counted as homeless was 923, according to Kentucky Department of Education statistics. In the fall, school officials said there were around 500 homeless students.

The number of homeless students fluctuates throughout the year.

The U.S. Department of Education has a different definition of homeless than the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The Department of Education considers those who are living with relatives or friends as homeless. HUD does not count those who are conditionally housed — like couch surfers — as homeless in its annual counts.

The council is expected to give final approval for the tenant mediation program and the new program for homeless students later this month.

In addition, the Catholic Action Center and other homeless nonprofits announced a campaign this fall to raise private funds to house more FCPS kids and their families.

Catholic Action Center Director Ginny Ramsey said that private fundraising effort has raised approximately $70,000. That money has gone to FCPS to help with homeless services costs and has helped house five families. One of those families had 13 kids. However, the money is nearly depleted.

To find out how to donate to the program, visit www.catholicactioncenter.net/give-kids-a-home.