Douglas County cuts unsheltered homelessness by more than half in one year
Grace Johnson | @grace.john_
In just one year, unsheltered homelessness in Douglas County has dropped by 63%.
According to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Lawrence has decreased unsheltered homelessness from 142 people in January 2024 to just 52 in January 2025. Nearly 100 Lawrence residents have moved from outdoors into shelters or housing. Local leaders in homelessness reduction efforts credit to the expanded shelter capacity and strong partnerships between community organizations and local government.
“There were options for beds, and when there are options for beds, people usually take that option”Brett Hartford, executive director of the Homeless Resource Center, said. “That’s why the numbers are so drastic now, people had options to be inside, and they are choosing that option.”
Much of that progress came when the Lawrence Community Shelter significantly increased its emergency bed capacity.
“A big part of it was creating space for people to go,” Misty Brosch-Hastings with the Homeless Solutions Division, said. “When I started here, we had 40 beds for emergency shelter. And today, we have about 225 beds now.”
Hartford said another breakthrough came from how the community and government worked together.
“So Lawrence did something that most communities don’t do,” he said. “They took well-intentioned community and partnered it with well-intentioned government. And that never happens. And again, most communities choose either/or, they don’t do both.”
Hartford also pointed to the importance of how the public views homelessness.
“I mean, drop assumptions, and come and visit and have a conversation with humans,” Hartford said. “It’s really easy, super easy, to just make assumptions about things in life that we don’t know or to see something and go, I don’t understand that. It’s uncomfortable to me, and just put a blanket assumption on top of it.”
With the combination of expanded shelter space, collaboration and changing community perspectives, Lawrence has begun the steps to creating a new, safer reality for homeless people. Local leaders are working to move Douglas County closer to ensuring long-term housing access for everyone.
