Redefining hospitality: the Kentucky hotel tackling America’s homeless crisis

At the Arthur Street Hotel, about 80 guests at a time get a room, meals and access to a case management team that helps them through the process of getting a federal housing voucher -- more commonly known as Section 8.

Guests can also access therapists and substance abuse treatment,
but neither are mandatory.
Many continue to use drugs while living in the hotel.

Its model, focused on housing first and treatment later, is seeking purchase in a landscape increasingly hostile toward people without permanent housing.

Donald Trump has promised to remove unhoused people from US streets,
and has toyed with the idea of using the death penaltyagainst drug dealers.

In overwhelmingly Democratic states such as California and Oregon, residents are increasingly abandoning progressive policies on drugs and homelessness
in favor of policies including forced treatment and re-criminalizing drugs.

The country’s changing attitudes are compounding the challenges facing low-income and unhoused Americans:
inadequate healthcare, unaffordable housing and drug addiction.

In Kentucky, there’s a shortage of about 200,000 homes and rental units, according to a Kentucky Housing Corp study.
Meanwhile, housing prices are rising, homeownership rates are falling, and homelessness in the state’s largest cities increased nearly 20% between 2022 and 2023, according to the latest point in time counts.

theguardian.com/us-news/2024/d…

Today in Labor History December 2, 2016: Thirty-six people died in a fire at the Ghost Ship, a converted warehouse in Oakland, California, serving as an artist collective. At the time, the warehouse was hosting a concert. However, the warehouse was zoned for industrial purposes. Residential and entertainment uses were illegal. Of the 80 to 100 people attending the concert, 36 died, making it the deadliest fire in the history of Oakland. The authorities arrested Ghost Ship's master tenant Derick Almena and his assistant Max Harris and charged them with felony involuntary manslaughter. After a series of mistrials, Harris was acquitted. On January 22, 2021, Almena pled guilty to 36 charges of involuntary manslaughter and was sentenced to 12 years in prison. With time served, he was expected to be able to serve his sentence in 18 months of home confinement while wearing an ankle monitor. A building inspector, a Child Protective Services agent, six members of the fire department, and three police officers had been to the building several times, but never mentioned any violations. Building owner, Chor Ng, plead the 5th, and never served any time. PG&E eventually paid some damages, as the fire originated with faulty electrical.

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