Homelessness in the land of John Prine

If you know me personally then you know that homelessness is something I think about all the time. I think that a society should be judged by how it treats its most vulnerable, and we don’t look great by that standard. So I was excited when the Kentucky Lantern asked me to work on this story about the homeless population in Muhlenberg County for them.

These photos are of Mallie. Less than a year ago police picked her up for trespassing but didn’t want to charge her because she had no where to go, so they left her in the Abundant Life Church parking lot in the rain instead. Her and her dog slept under a picnic table that night. For a long time homelessness wasn’t an issue that places like Muhlenberg had to deal with. Central City is the largest population hub with just over 5,000 residents. The nearest Salvation Army is 50 miles away in Hopkinsville.

But housing affordability has dramatically decreased while transportation to a big city has become more expensive and harder to come by. Central City has no permanent shelters and no one getting paid to help and advocate for these people. Just a handful of volunteers with conflicting approaches but a shared goal.

Zachary and Jennifer run the church that Mallie was left at, and have since used the church to house some people temporarily as well as offering a weekly community meal.

Gwen and Cindi helped Mallie find her current apartment in subsidized housing. They showed us the remains of a homeless camp that was broken up by the police after Kentucky passed a law making it illegal to camp. They often help John, below, get enough money to stay in the Central City Inn.

Statues around town honor the county’s past with a coal miner, John Prine and the Everly Brothers. The future is uncertain.

There have been some recent successes. Courtney, pictured above, was able to find a job while living at Abundant Life Church. And with the help of Kentucky Legal Aid Mallie was able to avoid eviction after a dispute with a neighbor. I really encourage everyone to read the four part story by Liam Niemeyer, here’s a link to part one https://kentuckylantern.com/2025/05/20/homeless-can-mean-invisible-but-not-to-everyone-in-this-small-kentucky-town/