LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- As rent skyrockets and the demand for affordable housing in Louisville rises, a local businessman is trying to bridge the gap and help transform lives.

Butch Mosby was born and raised in west Louisville. He founded the nonprofit Sponsor 4 Success as a way to give back to his community.

"That's really the primary reason that I do it, but in addition to that, people need an opportunity. The same type of opportunities that I was afforded," Mosby said. "They need those opportunities as well and I just want to try to provide it for them."

The nonprofit works to "improve the living and economic conditions in poor and underserved communities" by "sponsoring the children and young adults of financially challenged parents and helping them to defer the cost of educational, athletic and vocational programs, disadvantaged senior citizens' cost of minor home repairs, and the programs of schools, churches, and other nonprofit organizations and more."

The nonprofit's affordable rental program started about a year and a half ago. Mosby realized he could provide more opportunity through flipping vacant properties in the west end.

"What we're able to do is offer people affordable rentals at rates below market rate, and that gives them that leg up to be able to get to the next level," he said.

Christian Butler has been living in a Sponsor 4 Success rental home for a little over a year. But finding a safe, affordable place to call home wasn't easy. She had some evictions on her record and some issues with her credit. 

"My situation was that I had the money, I had the wages or whatever to move into a place that I could afford to pay the rent, but I just wasn't given a chance," Butler said. 

But Mosby saw her potential.

"I don't think I'm going to ever luck up on another landlord who cares as much as he do," Butler said. "It's not just about 'oh, you're living in my house, you're paying rent,' like it's the support."

Sponsor 4 Success currently has 11 affordable rentals, with more being remodeled. Rent is based on individual income and what each renter can afford. 

Mosby said as the need continues to grow, so does his waitlist. More funding and support would help give those people a place to call home.

"If we create this give back mentality, then the city and the neighborhood would be in much better shape," he said.

As for Butler, she's loving life in the city's Russell neighborhood and enjoying the flexibility it gives her to focus on her goals and setting her up for success of her own.

"Because it's an affordable rate, I have an opportunity to save. I have the opportunity to invest in my own business. I have a business of my own. It just opened up an array of opportunities," she said. "It's a blessing, definitely. And it came right on time, right on time."

To donate and support the nonprofit's cause, or to learn more about the affordable rental program, click here.

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