LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Homeless shelters in Louisville are full.
The Coalition for the Homeless said multiple families called recently seeking emergency housing, but they were turned away. Some were forced to sleep in tents and cars because there was no room in the shelters.
It's not hard to spot the crisis in downtown Louisville with tents in plain sight, tarps keeping possession dry and families living out of suitcases.
"It is sad more than anything because we have enough abandoned buildings. We have enough vacant properties that we could actually have more people housed than we do now," said Pony Morris, who is an organizer with Vocal Kentucky.
Morris said homeless shelters can be part of the problem. "I went to the homeless shelter one time. The homeless shelters that we have now, man, it's just they are just profiting from them. They aren't caring about housing anybody. They aren't caring about a person's wellbeing."
Morris said seeing the people on the streets hits home. He was homeless for five years in Louisville
George Eklund with the Coalition for the Homeless said it's the cost of housing is stressing budgets and pushing more people into homelessness.
"Right now, average rent in Jefferson County is $1,200 a month, and if you are making minimum wage, there is no way that you can make those ends meet," Eklund said.
Most recently, 24 families called the Coalition seeking emergency shelter, and 21 of those families were turned away because of space.
"This is our reality every day. Every day we know that families are homeless, people are in shelter, people are forced to sleep outside," Eklund said.
The coalition says its encouraging city leaders to fund a new shelter that could help end homelessness.
"We need to take accountability and we need to take affirmative actions around making housing a top priority for our community," Eklund urged.
In January, Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg announced a plan to invest tens of millions of dollars end homelessness.
"You have a partner in Louisville Metro Government, and we look forward to working together to make this a reality to provide the needed services and shelter to those in need, to prevent people from becoming homeless," Greenberg said at the time.
Meanwhile, the coalition says it will continue to serve and meet the needs of the people living on the streets of Louisville.
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