Dear Editor,

Covington, we need to talk.

We now have a homeless street yeller in our community- someone clearly struggling with mental health and likely substance use. It’s easy to feel uncomfortable or even frustrated when we see this, but this is bigger than one person. This is a reflection of a gap in our community that can no longer be ignored.

Covington has no year-round homeless shelter… 

That means people in crisis have nowhere to go, no stability, no consistent help, no safe place to land. And when there’s no system in place, the problem doesn’t disappear…it shows up on our streets.

Scripture calls us to do more than look away:

“Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine… and go after the lost sheep until he finds it?” — Luke 15:4

“And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones… truly I tell you, that person will certainly not lose their reward.” — Matthew 10:42

“Defend the weak and the fatherless; uphold the cause of the poor and the oppressed.” — Psalm 82:3

We are called to care for the one. Not ignore them. Not push them out of sight. Care.

Other cities with similar size and demographics have found ways to address homelessness with compassion and structure. Why haven’t we?

This is not just a city issue. This is a county issue. It requires collaboration, leadership, and urgency. We need local officials, churches, nonprofits, and citizens to come together and create a real, sustainable solution—including a year-round shelter. Because ignoring the problem doesn’t solve it. And neither does hoping someone else will step in.

Covington can do better. And we should.

Let’s be the community that goes after the one.

Beth Moyé Shaffer