Gathering community strengths to develop & sustain equitable rental housing

The Beginnings

In the summer of 2019, a group of us began planning to host a community dinner church down at the Lyric Theater. We were trying to live out our faith in Jesus Christ. The idea was about growing a faith community that expressed its worship differently than a traditional church. Dinners began and we met many interesting, amazing people. We saw many needs. One of those needs was housing—so many people struggled to find an affordable place to stay, a place to call home. Then Covid-19 changed the way things functioned. Dinner church stopped and we lost touch with many of our new friends. We were home, but they were still on the streets. Something had to change.

In Leviticus 23:22 God’s people are told

“‘When you reap the harvest of your land, do not reap to the very edges of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest. Leave them for the poor and for the foreigner residing among you. I am the Lord your God.”

In today’s world, most of us do not have a field or vineyard, we are blessed with much. We formed a nonprofit organization that can allow blessed individuals—followers of any faith or vision—to have a way to leave some ‘gleanings’ for the poor and the ‘foreigner’. Such ‘gleanings’ are ways to distribute resources in the community. Thus our name: Gleanings Housing, Inc.

The Vision

At Gleanings, we partner with you, community members, to develop and sustain housing units that are affordable for those with limited resources. We are developing housing not focused on making profit from rent. We use the investments from the community to sustain the properties, so rent can be affordable based on the income of the household.

Our vision is to develop duplexes, triplexes, small apartment complexes, and single-family homes in neighborhoods of mixed-income levels in Lexington, KY. We want to increase access to social networking capacities for household members living in our units.

One of our goals isn’t simply to house tenants; we want them to thrive. Mixed-income neighborhoods often have access to community resources that can be inaccessible in economically disadvantaged areas. Developing housing in this way helps connect Gleanings’ tenants to equitable resources. We create properties that are true blessings to those who get the opportunity to call them “home.” These are lofty goals, and we know we can’t achieve them alone. We are always seeking ways to provide individuals opportunities to invest in the Lexington community and live out their spirituality and values through supporting those with less, in a manner that promotes dignity and empowerment.

Next Steps

The Gleanings’ Plan

The Seeds We Sow

Gleanings Housing provides rental properties for individuals and families that allows them to afford the cost of rent by adjusting their rental costs to 30% of the household income. Gleanings Housing strives to provide economic equity for our clients by creating rental properties in areas that offer a variety of neighborhood resources and connections.
Help Life Flourish

Families and individuals with a household income of 50% or less than the local median income (MI) will be able to apply for our rentals. Gleanings is committed to ensuring that 40% of our rental units go to individuals or families with a history of chronic homelessness.
The rental units will be a mixture of single-family homes, duplexes, triplexes, and condos throughout Lexington.
What We Grow In To

In addition to the provision of affordable housing rental units, Gleanings provides case management services to assist with the long-term maintenance of a home, for clients experiencing chronic homelessness. Case management will involve assisting clients in identifying barriers to maintaining housing, making referrals for additional resources, and assisting in making other community connections. Gleanings Housing is determined for our tenants to thrive.