Proposed changes to city codes could open literal doors to many Lawrence community members in need of housing if a city advisory board’s recommendations become law.
August Rudisell/Lawrence Times
Winter is coming fast, and many Lawrence community members are unhoused. Downtown stakeholders have come together to push the city to find solutions, but city staff members say right now they’re limited in what they can do.
Chansi Long/Lawrence Times
Jennifer Adams is anxious. She soon has to relocate the tent where she currently lives nestled near a shade tree. In the year and a half Adams has been homeless, the city has swept her camps six times, she said.
August Rudisell/Lawrence Times
A lot has changed in the past 16 years — but that’s not reflected in the document that lays out the regulations meant to help the city implement its vision. Here’s what to know about code updates that “have the potential to radically reshape the community.”
“If you’re charged with a felony, you have the right to an attorney. If you’re about to be kicked out of your home here in Douglas County, you’re on your own,” Steven Koprince writes in this letter to the Times.
As the city formulates its 2023 budget, some social services leaders and advisory board members want more transparency, equity and public engagement in the process used to distribute funding for social service agencies.
Douglas County Commissioners on Wednesday heard the challenges facing an end to chronic homelessness in the county.
Tricia Masenthin/Lawrence Times
Douglas County suffers from an elder care crisis, according to members of the nonprofit organization Justice Matters. Senior care service providers can’t recruit and retain enough qualified staff to provide quality care to seniors in Douglas County who need it.
Andrea Albright / The Lawrence Times
An interactive simulation on Wednesday highlighted the challenges faced by individuals transitioning from a life of incarceration into the community.
Lawrence Times graphic
With the clock ticking on Douglas County’s goal of eliminating functional homelessness in 2023, a new report reveals disparities; among them, Black and Indigenous people are experiencing homelessness at rates nearly 3-5 times higher than the general population.
