LEXINGTON, Ky. — Kentucky nonprofit, the Lexington Rescue Mission is growing its space so it can help more people.


What You Need To Know

  • The nonprofit’s mission focuses on long-term job finding, laundry-services for the unsheltered, to helping with transitional living for folks in recovery through programs like Grace Place

  • Last year, the Lexington Rescue Mission served over 57,000 meals to Lexington and central Kentucky

  • The nonprofit will host its annual banquet and silent auction dinner on Sept. 28


It’s a family affair at the Lexington Rescue Mission. Jim and Becky Connell say their faith brought them to Lexington in 2001. They quit their jobs to help people in need.

Their daughter, Laura Carr, serves as executive director and has been a dedicated member of the mission for 16 years. 

The nonprofit helps vulnerable groups in the community take care of financial, housing, and other needs like transitional living for those in recovery.   

“It’s trying to help meet people where they’re at and are again ministering to those deeper needs that they have to be able to live their full potential and ultimately flourish,” Carr explained. 

It’s why they are opening doors inside a brand extra office space off West Second Street. At the moment, they are fundraising to help change the space to suit their efforts. It temporarily is an information center until the space is developed to meet the needs of this area. 

One of Lexington Rescue Mission’s existing outreach centers is located on Glen Arvin Avenue in the west end of Lexington. (Spectrum News 1/Sabriel Metcalf)

Carr says it came with serious planning, “We talked to our clients to ask them what they needed and where, where it needed to be.”

They want the space to help them offer meals, affordable housing and employment opportunities as they take in more people to support. “We will have three times the number of people coming than we have space to feed them at our current facility,” Carr said. 

Daily outreach at locations like the center on Glen Arvin Avenue will remain open.

“What this space allows us to do is to bring a lot of those services all under one roof and create a much more comprehensive center of services for people so they can get all of what they can get and all in one spot.” Carr added. 

The Lexington Rescue Mission aims to welcome other community partners like the Isaiah House to the space once renovations are final. 

The nonprofit will host its annual banquet and silent auction dinner on Sept. 28, starting at 5:30 p.m. at the Central Bank Center. Tables can be reserved at the Lexington Rescue Mission, with donations will be used for the new center’s renovation.