Press Release | January 23, 2020
Contact: Kelly Rose | krose@welcomehouseky.org | (859) 431-8717
Welcome House of Northern Kentucky, Inc. will conduct a count of families and individuals experiencing homelessness in Boone, Kenton, and Campbell on Wednesday, January 29, 2020 starting at noon and ends Thursday, January 31 as part of the 2020 K-Count coordinated in partnership with Kentucky Housing Corporation. All parties will meet at noon at Welcome House located at 1132 Greenup St. in Covington. The K-Count is a “point-in-time” snapshot of persons experiencing homelessness across Kentucky. The K-Count includes persons temporarily residing in emergency shelters and transitional housing programs as well persons who are unsheltered. Volunteers are needed specifically to locate and survey persons living outside or in other locations not meant for regular human habitation.
Understanding the scope of homelessness in a local area allows planners to more effectively target resources, which helps minimize the number of individuals and families experiencing homelessness and, in turn, reduces the inefficient and costly use other valuable resources in the community. Last year, 51 homeless people were found in Boone County, 68 in Campbell County, and 182 in Kenton County. This year, there will also be a concerted effort to seek out any homeless individuals in Grant and Carroll Counties.
“The K-Count is important for this region because it puts an actual number to the amount of homeless people we are meeting on a day to day basis on the streets,” says Justin Beale, Director of Programs and Services at Welcome House of Northern Kentucky. “We are hoping to shed light on the homeless issues our region faces daily.”
Welcome House is the lead agency in the Northern Kentucky for conducting this year’s K-Count for the unsheltered homeless population. Welcome House, in partnership with other agencies and staff, are counting the homeless population for 24 hours
“Our staff will be out on the streets looking for people to count and do surveys with,“ says Beale. “Our hope is to complete as many surveys as possible.”
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About Welcome House
Founded in 1982, Covington-based Welcome House of Northern Kentucky works to end homelessness across the state. The organization’s continuum of services includes providing homeless individuals and families shelter and housing and ensuring people who are on the brink of homelessness or living in extreme poverty stay housed by managing their income and benefits. Welcome House also coordinates services with other community organizations to provide stability for everyone they serve. The Welcome House staff of nearly 50 includes experts in housing, budgeting, social security benefits, accounting, healthcare and street outreach. They are supported by thousands of volunteers and donors and a board of directors comprising community leaders and industry experts. Welcome House was a 2019 recipient of a $1.25 million grant from the Day 1 Families Fund – created by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos to provide grants to organizations moving the needle on family homelessness.
