Crowd outside Metro Hall calls on mayor to allocate millions from city budget to fight homelessness

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Louisville human rights groups called on Mayor Craig Greenberg on Thursday to increase the amount of funding allocated toward fixing the city's homelessness crisis. Greenberg is set to release his budget recommendations next week, and those advocating for the rights of those experiencing homelessness gathered outside Metro Hall to make it clear what they expect to be included in that proposal.

The cycle of homelessness is a tough one to break, something Markus Young Sr. experiences daily. Since being forced by the city to clear two encampments in the last month, Young now lives in the streets of NuLu.

"All we want is to be whole, and that starts with a place to rest your head," Young said Thursday.

He said the city constantly clearing camps — "rushing you up and down the street" — as led him to lose personal items, including family portraits.

"It's not that we're looking for something for nothing," he said. "We're looking to make a contribution just like you but we're coming from a place of nothing and coming from a place of being broken."

To help those like Young, community members are asking for $71 million in city funding be put toward solving the homelessness crisis. Of that, $15 million would be to build more daily and short-term shelters, $16 million would be to fund addiction prevention programs, and $40 million would be put toward building affordable housing.

"The ongoing and aggressive clearings of encampments are actually prolonging homelessness by making it harder to provide services to the people who live in encampments," said Ra'Shann Martin, executive director of Louisville's St. John Center.

The Coalition for the Homeless said during the week of Jan. 24, 581 people were homeless in Louisville compared to 243 that same time a year ago. That's a 139% increase.

"Our lack of housing and acceptiveness of homeless holds our entire city back," director of education and advocacy George Eukland for the Coalition for the Homeless.

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