LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WHAS11) -- The city’s homeless problem has come into focus over the last week and some say there has been too much talk and too little action.
Outreach activists and council members say they're looking to the mayor to take action. They want solutions and they want them soon.
Forty people will be displaced from two homeless camps set to be cleared in the next two weeks. One of those people is Joan Burkhead, who has been waiting for housing through the city for six months.
"I've really not come up with a decent option at this time,” Burkhead said.
All 350 homeless shelter beds in Louisville are already occupied.
"We're talking about 40 people who are going to be displaced- where are they going to go? Who's going to help them get there?” Christen Herron, who leads The Forgotten Louisville, said.
Herron, who is known as "tiny" commends the communication that comes from the Mayor's task force.
But she said she hasn't seen any action. WHAS11 tried to ask Mayor Greg Fischer if he has a plan. He pointed us to Chief Resilience Officer Eric Friedlander and offered the following statement:
“Homelessness is a complex issue that every big city in the nation is grappling with right now. In Louisville, too many find themselves without shelter as they struggle with addiction, behavioral health issues, domestic violence, other traumatic experiences and bad financial circumstances – but this is an issue that we’re committed to addressing here. In 2014, I was one of the first mayors in America to sign onto the Mayors Challenge to End Veteran Homelessness; working with the Coalition for the Homeless and other agencies, we secured housing all 360 known homeless veterans at the time in our city, and we now have procedures in place to house homeless veterans as soon as we identify them so we remain at “functional zero.” In August 2017, the Coalition and community partners launched the 100-Day Challenge to house at least 100 homeless youth and young adults in our city within 100 days; we beat the goal, housing 115, and we recently received additional federal funding to elevate that work. Over the last four years, Louisville Metro Government has invested $41 million in affordable housing, and over the past year, we’ve worked especially hard to establish a compassionate way to address the issue of homeless encampments. These are challenges that require the resources of local, state and federal government, and it will take all of us pulling together – my office, Metro Council, local businesses, the Coalition and other community partners – to see sustainable success. We are absolutely focused on that goal. I am grateful to those who are working tirelessly every day to help tackle this very important and very challenging issue.”
Friedlander said,” There are things that need to happen, but we almost had to go through this entire process which has been a while to get to the point when the veneer comes off and we get to talking about real issues."
The real issues include how to tackle panhandling, without interfering with freedom of speech. Also, where to put people who don't have a home but don't have a bed in a shelter either.
Friedlander said, "this is what is really is- folks need services. How to break the cycle of addiction, how to break the trauma that has been in their lives- that's what we need to work on."
He said the city is actively working to find a solution every day. Because the people affected deserve better.
One of those solutions is a new task force focused on finding creative solutions to the city's growing panhandling problem.
►Contact reporter Shay McAlister at smcalister@whas11.com. Follow her on Twitter (@WHAS11Shay) and Facebook.