LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- More than 11,000 people were living in Louisville without a home in 2022.

Deborah Hall was once among those people, spending two years of her life without a home. Now, she's crediting a local homeless outreach program with saving her life.

"Everything was just falling apart," said Hall. "I stayed with my son, and all the time I was still trying to find a place, but you have to come up with a deposit and the first month's rent, so I didn't have it like that. So I ran out of options."

After spending all of her money on hotel rooms, it was a different kind of hotel that changed Hall's life. 

"I couldn't feel sorry for myself, because I was still alive and I had dreams of what I wanted to do," she said. 

The Arthur Street Hotel — which is hotel-style transitional housing — provides services to Louisville's homeless population, such as harm reduction and recovery, home navigation and bill pay assistance, which is exactly what Hall said she needed.

"Running into people that were in the same plight that I was in was good for me," she said. 

Hall spent seven months there.

"It saved my life," she said.

The hotel got Hall, and more than 100 others, off the streets and into permanent housing.

"I could see why people get sick," she said. "I mean, you keep getting sicker and sicker if you don't have something to look forward to. You gotta have hope."

Grateful every step of the way, Hall now lives in the Baptist Towers in Old Louisville and is getting her life back.

"It's gonna be OK," she said. "Hang in there. It's gonna get better, and gradually it's getting better. It's getting better."

Now that she's in a place she can call home, Hall hopes to get a job with the Arthur Street Hotel to help others going through a tough time.

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