August Rudisell/Lawrence Times
The Lawrence Community Shelter is planning to randomly assign two unhoused people night by night to sleep inside each of the 24 Pallet shelters — tiny cabins — to be built behind the main shelter.
Lawrence Times file photo
Questions have surfaced about the city’s policy to prioritize Douglas County residents with homelessness services — among them, how does someone without an address prove they live here? Here’s more about the policy, its purpose and how it’s played out over the last few months.
The local homeless response team is asking churches and organizations to offer people a warm place to sleep this winter, rather than opening community buildings that have been used in the past.
Mackenzie Clark/Lawrence Times
In response to the latest point-in-time count of people experiencing homelessness in Douglas County, the City of Lawrence says employees are making individual connections with people, leading to “powerful milestones of impact.”
Following an update on the city’s homelessness programs, many Lawrence community members who are living outside and advocates told city commissioners Tuesday that the city has broken their trust.
The City of Lawrence is launching its new homeless solutions division, and Misty Bosch-Hastings, who has served as homeless programs coordinator for the city since summer, will serve as its director.
Lawrence community members helped around the clock during the recent extreme cold snap, and advocates say there is no doubt that their efforts saved people’s lives.
Molly Adams / Lawrence Times
With the worst of the extreme weather behind us — at least for now — Lawrence’s overflow winter emergency shelters will close for the time being, effective Wednesday morning.
The Lawrence Community Shelter board on Thursday did not review a draft agreement that’s set to go to the Lawrence City Commission on Tuesday. The shelter will likely seek around $2.1 million for operations in 2024.
August Rudisell/Lawrence Times
Within two days of announcing a new online form to report people living outside to Lawrence’s homeless programs team, the city had received more than four dozen responses regarding approximately 20 camps.
