LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- For nearly two years, Voncil Preston lived on the second floor of Dosker Manor, one of Louisville’s largest public housing complexes.
Now, for the first time in a long time, she can sit at her kitchen table, open the windows and feel free.
"I feel better. I'm more elated. I'm happy I can talk. I'm free," Preston said, beaming inside her new two-bedroom apartment.
Preston is one of 303 residents who have moved out of Dosker Manor, a building long plagued by deteriorating conditions. Her move wasn’t just about escaping the physical space—it was about reclaiming her life.
"I feel like I can live again here," she said. "Like I'm able to get back on track, get a job. My house is clean."
Six months ago, Preston got her chance to leave. Now, her home is filled with personal touches—carefully decorated walls, and records salvaged from a shuttered music shop. It’s a space she’s proud of.
“I got two bedrooms,” she said with a smile. “And it’s all mine.”
Her new home is not part of public housing. Instead, she pays a portion of the rent using a Section 8 housing voucher. It’s a step up, both in quality and independence.
"I feel more freer," she said. "At Dosker, it’s like you become a property of the property. But here, I don’t have to submit to anybody. I can sit on my little front porch with my little stools."
The Louisville Metro Housing Authority (LMHA) is in the process of relocating all residents from Dosker Manor due to years of complaints and deteriorating conditions. For Preston, the damage to her health—both physical and mental—was severe.
"It destroyed my mental health. It destroyed me. I had to go to the hospital," she recalled.
She described a daily reality of unsafe conditions, intruders, mold, bed bugs, theft and constant fear.
“Somebody breaking in at your house, breaking your car windows, stealing everything you got—your food, your bed, your TVs. People were going through the windows,” she said.
Now, her new apartment represents something more than just shelter. It's peace. It's privacy. It's a future.
“Yeah, this is it,” Preston said, her voice calm and certain. For the first time in years, she finally has a place to call home.
Previous Coverage:
Rising rental costs, lack of affordable options threaten to plunge Louisville into housing crisis
With some Louisville public housing in desperate need of upgrades, LMHA gets strategic with funding
Bones found at Dosker Manor amid longstanding concerns over housing conditions
Dosker Manor resident faces challenges while searching for ADA apartment
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