Louisville mayor plans to invest $32.5 million to end homelessness, add community care campus

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Louisville plans to invest tens of millions of dollars in an effort to prevent and end homelessness while providing facilities where people living on the streets can readily receive medical treatment.

Mayor Craig Greenberg was joined by officials from Norton Healthcare, UofL Health, the Coalition for the Homeless and other local leaders Thursday as he announced the city's plan to spend more than $34 million to make substantial investments in programs and facilities to prevent and 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 and to provide more permanent and affordable housing," Mayor Greenberg said speaking to partners in attendance.

About $24 million of that money will be used to build permanent affordable housing. The city will begin seeking partners to help develop new permanent housing opportunities for low-income households at or below 50% of the Adjusted Median Income and below.

Greenberg acknowledged that there are families struggling far lower than 50% below AMI, and said it will factor into the application process for affordable housing.

"We know that people who are making 30% or lower than AMI have even greater needs than people at 50% or below," he said. "So, that will certainly be considered as we're looking at application to allocate this."

Another $8.25 million will be spent on programs to help people remain in homes. The Louisville Urban League will be given $2 million to distribute to those in need of assistance with security deposits and first month's rent. That funding will be deployed in late February.

"Combined, this first 8.2 million dollars is going directly to individuals to prevent them from becoming homeless," said Greenberg.

Millions will also be spent to keep renters from being evicted. The Association of Community Ministries will be given $5 million in direct rental assistance to distribute to thousands of Louisville families and individuals facing eviction, specifically households which have already applied for assistance through the Healthy At Home Eviction Relief Fund.

The remaining $1.25 million in eviction relief funding will go towards mediation assistance and legal fees.

The Greenberg administration is tackling the homeless issue by helping people remain in homes and helping them afford homes. The mayor's office also plans to address the problem by helping those without a home now.

The plan includes creating a community care campus in Smoketown, just east of Interstate 65. The campus and "medical respite facility" will address "a critical gap in the care of those experiencing homelessness to increase care, reduce hospital readmissions and assist with the transition to temporary or permanent housing."

Greenberg said the city is buying property on East Breckinridge Street (near Floyd and Brook Streets) for $6.9 million, which is below market value. That property is currently occupied by the Vu Hotel and Guest House, the C2 Event Space, and a few other buildings and green space. It's also on the same block as the Hope village, a Metro government owned safe space.

Stachelle Bussey runs the Hope Village and said she's excited about the plan and how the resources could come together.

"I think each thing on the community care campus will have its own function," Bussey said. "All of us are just going to have to figure out what that function is."

Bussey said it's not yet clear how the organizations will work together on the new campus, but is trusting the mayor's office to honor its word of collaboration. "The conversation needs to be, 'In addition to this, we are adding this.' We need to make sure Metro government stays accountable to 'in addition to' and not 'instead of.'"

The space will accommodate more than 150 people and be equipped with centralized nursing stations, medical supplies and prescriptions, a kitchen, and laundry facilities.

Greenberg says the space was identified as a place to provide medical care for those who do not need hospital-level care, but still have ongoing medical needs. He hopes it will be a new solution and nationwide model to better address homelessness and healthcare.

"This campus will address both the physical and mental health services that are needed with 24/7 case management to provide connection to other services and referrals to community resources," Mayor Greenberg said. "This facility will also include temporary housing to bridge the gap between hospital discharge and the wait for a shelter bed, or even better, permanent housing, which can sometimes take 90 days or even more."

Greenberg said there is no estimated date to open the care campus yet, yet the mayor's office told WDRB that it could be serving homeless within a month.