By Nadia Ramlagan
Public News Service
Identification documents are an essential part of daily life, but many unhoused Kentuckians have no permanent address and no form of photo ID.
Their advocates want to see updates to the processes social-service agencies use to get state-issued IDs for their clients.
Shannon Frey, services and volunteer coordinator for St. John Center for Homeless Men in Louisville, explained Kentucky House Bill 21 would afford people the opportunity to have a driver’s license without a permanent address.
According to the Pew Research Center, California, Connecticut, Georgia, Illinois, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina and South Carolina have implemented laws to waive fees for people who do not have permanent addresses to obtain state IDs. (Photo from Adobe Stock, via PNS)
She pointed out a lack of photo ID creates major barriers for the state’s most vulnerable residents.
“Trying to get employment if you don’t have an ID, you’re not going to be able to get a job,” Frey observed. “Those are two huge doors that opens.”
The bill has bipartisan support. According to 2021 figures from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, on any given night, more than 2,500 Kentuckians experience homelessness.
Ra’Shann Martin, executive director of St. John’s, said the current $10 cost for a state-issued ID, added up, noting her organization pays to obtain ID’s for more than 1,000 clients a year, to jump-start the process of getting individuals into affordable homes. She explained the measure would cut the cost in half.
“It is us who, oftentimes, are paying for that documentation for individuals who come to us who may not have income, who cannot work,” Martin emphasized. “Because they do not have an ID.”
George Elkund, education and advocacy director of the Coalition for the Homeless, argued a more affordable state ID would also help more unhoused minors get housing and participate in public life.
“But also for that small population of, like, homeless young people who are 16 and 17, who have no relationship with their parents, to get access to that critical document,” Elkund added.
Research shows not having an ID is closely linked to poorer health outcomes, especially in rural communities.
