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Resident urges Jefferson County to create overnight inclement‑weather shelters for people experiencing homelessness
Summary
A community health navigator told the council Jefferson County has no overnight shelters, warming buses or emergency accommodations and urged formation of a task force to address inclement‑weather sheltering for unhoused residents.
Tara Lang, who identified herself as a community health navigator with Chestnut, told the Jefferson County Council the county is ‘‘alarmingly unprepared’’ to protect people experiencing homelessness from cold weather and asked officials to form a task force.
"Jefferson County, home to close to 235,000 residents, finds itself alarmingly unprepared to protect its unhoused population from inclement weather," Lang said. She detailed the lack of overnight shelters, warming buses or emergency accommodation options and said libraries and health departments remain open only during business hours.
Lang said grassroots groups such as the Jefferson County Unhoused Coalition and a local Facebook group (GEFCO 411) are filling gaps but are not substitutes for coordinated county resources. She asked the council to reach out, form a task force and work with local partners and law enforcement to develop solutions.
County Executive Gannon acknowledged public comments and closed the public‑comment segment before moving into agenda items. The council did not adopt an immediate policy or directive during the same meeting; Lang’s request is recorded in the public comments portion of the minutes for follow up.
What happens next: The council may choose to refer the matter to staff or an ad hoc committee for research and potential policy recommendations at a future meeting.
