A Murray resident raised concerns about gaps in local services for people experiencing homelessness during an Aug. 13 Murray City Council meeting after struggling to find immediate help for an unhoused 18-year-old with a disability.
Brigid Robine told the council she and others had been helping the teen, who uses a wheelchair, and had sought assistance from several local agencies, including HOPE Calloway.
Robine said she and others helping the teen were referred to HOPE Calloway, a nonprofit organization that assists people experiencing poverty.
“The response was that we currently do not provide any housing,” Robine told council members. “But the only options that were given to this young man, who again is wheelchair bound, disabled, no money, no resources, was a trip to a homeless shelter in Indiana, or one night at a motel.”
According to HOPE Calloway’s website, Calloway County ranks highest in Kentucky in demand for housing, and roughly 25% of Murray residents live below the poverty level.
Nationally, the National Alliance to End Homelessness reports that homeless response workers served more than 1.1 million people in 2024, a 12% increase from 2023. The organization says homeless service providers do not have enough shelter, housing and services to meet demand.
Robine echoed this to the council, saying several agencies referred her and others to HOPE Calloway, but she said those referrals had not produced an immediate housing option for the teen.
“I am not blaming anybody,” she said. “I am not mad at anybody, but there is a serious lapse in what we as a community feel we are doing for people. … Our community is failing where we believe we are achieving. There are no churches that will independently take this on because they give their donations to Hope Calloway to provide these services. We are donating our money to this organization because they provide this, and again, currently they are unable.”
Asked directly whether HOPE Calloway was currently unable to provide services to people in need, Executive Director Amber Sugg said that was not the case.
“HOPE Calloway accepts applications for individuals 18 and up, so, yes – we are able to provide services for those who qualify when we have open apartments,” she said.
In a later interview, Robine said a city council member told her about “an epidemic” of 18-year-olds being kicked out by their parents.
“I guess they had some sort of committee meeting,” Robine said, “and the director of HOPE Calloway did come down there and tell them that she is not currently able to service these people, and that there's been an epidemic in the area of people throwing their children out, and that the community would be shocked to hear how many times this happens. It's a very regular occurrence.”
Sugg said the organization does regularly encounter young adults who become unhoused after turning 18 and described the issue as “significant.”
Sugg said that, since she stepped into her role six months ago, HOPE Calloway has worked with five 18-year-old students who have experienced similar circumstances.
“I don't know if I would use the word ‘epidemic,’ but we do see it often that (in teenagers) once they turn 18,” Sugg said. “Their parents are no longer letting them stay in their homes, or kicking them out, or you know, sending them to a friends' house, whatever the circumstances. It's definitely something we see here at HOPE Calloway.”
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