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Paducah Cooperative Ministry urges 50-bed shelter, says homelessness is a housing shortage
Summary
Paducah Cooperative Ministry executive director Lacey Bowling told the Paducah City Board of Commissioners that local homelessness figures undercount families and students, and urged support for a 50-bed drop-in shelter and broader housing strategies to close a local shortfall of thousands of units.
Lacey Bowling, executive director of Paducah Cooperative Ministry, told the Paducah City Board of Commissioners on June 10 that homelessness in Paducah includes families and schoolchildren not always counted by HUD and urged local leaders to support a 50-bed drop-in shelter and policies to increase affordable housing.
Bowling said school records show 248 Paducah Public Schools students enrolled in McKinney‑Vento services in the 2024–25 school year and that Fresh Start Village, PCM’s transitional shelter, currently houses people who otherwise lack stable housing. “Homelessness is a housing issue,” she said, urging the city to coordinate with nonprofits and developers on affordable units.
Bowling described the difference between HUD’s housing-centered definition and the McKinney‑Vento Act used by education agencies, saying a student who changes sleeping locations can be considered homeless under McKinney‑Vento even if not by HUD measures. She urged commissioners to include children in local counts and planning: “These children are homeless. We’re not counting them and we have not counted them.”
PCM data Bowling presented includes: 248 students in Paducah Public Schools enrolled in McKinney‑Vento in 2024–25; McCracken County reported 212 students in McKinney‑Vento; a point‑in‑time count reported 192 people in 2024; Fresh Start Village operates a 48‑bed shelter with 53 people currently housed and an average stay of about 116 nights. Bowling said 91% of adults at Fresh Start Village have a stable income and that what slows exits to permanent housing is a lack of available rental units.
Bowling said the local housing wage in McCracken County is $19.08 per hour and that two‑bedroom fair‑market rent is $992; she told commissioners many residents pay 50–75% of income for rent. She also cited a regional shortfall: PCM estimates McCracken County is short about 3,805 rental units now, rising toward roughly 5,000 by 2029 under Kentucky Housing Corporation projections.
Commissioners asked how a shelter would serve families. Bowling said the proposed 50‑bed drop‑in shelter would serve families as well as individuals and could reduce hotel stays that families now pay for by the week. Commissioners and the mayor thanked Bowling and noted the connection between job growth and housing availability as they discussed incentives and capacity for new housing projects.
No formal action or vote on PCM’s shelter proposal was taken at the June 10 meeting. Commissioners said they would continue coordinating with PCM, the county and other partners on housing strategies and incentives discussed during the meeting.
Bowling closed by urging a joint approach across nonprofits, elected officials and private developers to expand affordable supply and prevent rising counts of unhoused residents and students.
