LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- More than 1,000 people in Louisville are either living in a shelter or are unsheltered on the streets, according to the city's Office of Resilience and Community Services.
"1,013 is total for unsheltered and sheltered," said Tameka Laird, director for Louisville's Office of Resilience and Community Services.
She said that count was done in January 2021. Laird said in previous years, the count — known as a Point In Time or PIT count — is done over one day. This year due to the pandemic, the count was conducted over the course of a full week.
Laird said data from 2021 shows 257 people unsheltered. She said in 2020, that number was 141 and in 2019 that number was 118.
She said because of the pandemic, many in Louisville's homeless population are "sheltering in place" at camps.
"The considerations of the CDC says we need to actually have them shelter in place," she said. "It means we are leaving them in the place in which they are sheltering at this point."
Nina Moseley, chief operating officer for Wayside Christian Mission, said she's seeing a decrease in the number of people staying in the shelter but noticing more tents on the street.
"A lot of folks that are staying on the street, especially during warmer weather, don't really want to come inside where they have to follow rules," said Moseley.
She said there are several other factors she believes shelter numbers are lower right now.
"Some of it is because of the eviction moratorium, some of it is because people are leery about the virus and being around more people, getting in contact with other people, and then of course, the stimulus checks are giving people more money where they can stay out as well," she said.
Moseley said the city is working to get people vaccinated against COVID-19, and new clients at Wayside can go to Phoenix Healthcare for the Homeless to get their shot.
"There's a lot of effort to make sure the homeless population is safe and well taken care of right now," she said.
Still, Moseley said she is seeing several tents on the sidewalks and in grassy spots around Louisville.
"We are seeing more camps pop up and I expect that they will continue to pop up as long as the city is taking the stand that we're not going to move them right now," she said.
Moseley went on to say, "Until we're back in a full normal position where the city is trying to clear the camps out and so forth, people aren't going to come in in good weather."
A statement from Mayor Greg Fischer reads: "The challenge of homelessness is an ongoing, multi-faceted issue being faced by major cities across the nation. Louisville Metro Government is taking a holistic, integrated approach to tackling this challenge, aiming to meet people where they are. My staff and our partners are on the streets every day, offering services to those on our streets. And we currently are working with our partners, including the Coalition for the Homeless, on a multi-step strategy to provide shelter and services that will lead to stabilization and self-sufficiency."
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