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The KNOW Homelessness Initiative is partnering with local coffee shops to raise awareness about and change public perception of homelessness in Louisville and southern Indiana. (KNOW Homeless Initiative photo)

 KNOW Homeless Initiative

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- A local group is working to change public perception about Kentuckiana's homeless population.

The KNOW Homelessness Initiative is partnering with local coffee shops to raise awareness about the issue in Louisville and southern Indiana.

For the entire month of August, participating coffee shops will be handing out branded coffee cups. The goal is for the cups to act as a conversation starter to help educate customers about homelessness. The cups also include statistics about the homeless population in Louisville and southern Indiana.

Coffee shops participating in the monthlong initiative are: Heine Brothers', Bean, Coffee Crossing, Full Stop Station, KentJava Bar, Mickeys, Pearl Street Game & Coffee House, Quills Coffee and the Safai Coffee Bar inside Logan Street Market.

There will also be 27 billboards going up on both sides of the Ohio River, in an effort to educate local community members through stats and information. 

The KNOW Homelessness campaign said it started in 2020 to bring attention to the homeless communities in Louisville and southern Indiana and to address the stigma that often surrounds homelessness, according to a news release.

The initiative says in 2019, Jefferson County reported more than 17,000 eviction filings — two times the national average, according to a 2020-21 report from the State of Metropolitan Housing. In 2020, there were 6,481 filings, despite the federal and state eviction moratorium in place for most of the year.

To learn more about the KNOW Homeless Initiative, click here.

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