Douglas County finds supportive housing saves nearly $108,000 in public costs

Douglas County says its Flexible Housing Pool program generated $107,960 in public-service savings, giving commissioners a dollar figure to weigh against the cost of helping chronically homeless residents move into stable housing.

The county’s analysis covered 24 people served from March 2024 through May 2026. Of those, 18 were housed, and 14 had a history at the Lawrence Community Shelter, a detail that ties the savings to less strain on local crisis systems as well as more stable living arrangements.

That fiscal picture matters because the program is not free to run. County agenda materials put the 2026 cost of supportive housing services, rent, utilities, flexible fees, damage deposits, household goods and furnishings at $519,552. Douglas County also said $321,000 in ongoing behavioral health sales tax funding was secured beginning Jan. 1, 2026 after federal HUD-backed funding ended.

Commissioners were set to receive the update as a work session item, with no action recommended. The review came as county leaders continue to measure whether supportive housing can lower public spending in places that usually absorb the cost of homelessness, including shelter systems and other crisis-response services.

Douglas County first approved the Flexible Housing Pool in March 2025 with the Lawrence-Douglas County Housing Authority and Bert Nash Community Mental Health Center. At that point, the county set aside about $600,000 in behavioral health sales tax revenue and expected the program to help up to 22 households transition into more stable housing.

By January 2026, county staff said Mental Health America of the Heartland should take over supportive services. Under that addendum, the program expanded to support up to 32 households, or up to 45 individuals depending on household size, and the county put the total 2026 cost at $519,552.

The Flexible Housing Pool sits inside Douglas County and the City of Lawrence’s broader homelessness strategy, A Place for Everyone, adopted in 2024. That plan aims for functional zero homelessness by 2028, with county materials estimating a five-year price tag of about $267.8 million.

Households are referred through the Balance of State Continuum of Care and a Coordinated Entry System assessment, with priority given to people with chronic homelessness histories, severe vulnerability, domestic violence, recent hospitalization or incarceration, and other high-risk housing instability. The program now arrives at a time when demand remains high: the Lawrence Community Shelter served 806 individuals in 2025, and shelter demand has more than doubled since mid-2024.