LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- The city of Louisville is building what it calls its "Community Care Campus," using millions of dollars earmarked to help Louisville curb its homeless problem.
Natalie Harris, the executive director of the Coalition for the Homeless, said it will offer something homeless people can't get anywhere else.
The city spent nearly $7 million to purchase a few buildings just off of South Floyd Street and East Breckinridge Street in May to create the campus. Those buildings include the Vu Hotel and Guesthouse, the C2 event space and a few other locations.
In their place will be the Community Care Campus, which Harris said is meant to care for homeless people who are too well to be in the hospital but too sick to be on the streets.
"We actually have people in Louisville who are sleeping outside while they're going through cancer treatment," Harris said.
Last year, nearly 11,000 people were homeless at some point in Jefferson County, according to the Coalition for the Homeless.
"Some of those people were homeless for the entire year," Harris said.
A majority of that homeless population is clustered around downtown Louisville, which was why the location at South Floyd and East Breckinridge streets was chosen for the campus.
"This would fill a gap not being filled in Louisville," Harris said.
According to the Coalition for the Homeless, one-third of the homeless population has some sort of physical health issue, so there is a need for their housing and medical challenges to be treated in a single space.
Harris said the Community Care Campus will address this by providing respite care 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The plan is for the C2 building to provide services, the Vu Hotel to house families and the guesthouse will provide 24/7 healthcare similar to a nursing home.
Julie Hinson, the manager of the project, previously ran a health care company.
"I feel like I need to give back to the community," she said.
Hinson and her team will be combing through the requests for proposals to choose the best option.
"We actually got three good proposals that came through," she said.
Once an RFP is chosen, that company will lease the buildings from the city and decide what to do with each space.
"Having a place where people can go and deal with those medical issues without the cost of staying in the hospital is very exciting," Harris said.
Project leaders said they're not sure when they will be able to start serving people in those buildings, but they plan to select an RFP by September.
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- Louisville Metro accepting proposals for campus intended to help houseless population
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