Louisville's most troubled and poor to feel the first blows of new Louisville budget

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Louisville's most troubled and poor citizens will feel the first blow from the budget approved Tuesday night by Louisville Metro Council.

Services for troubled teenagers, the mentally ill, addicted and financially insecure will disappear or be greatly reduced.

The new budget slashed services to cover a $65 million budget hole tied mostly to mandated pension increases, and it has people like Brenda Johnston worried. Johnston visited the Charmoli Neighborhood Place to secure food stamps benefits. The 64-year-old woman was less than pleased to know the Neighborhood Place branch closest to her home would shut down after Tuesday's vote.

"It's very upsetting, not just to me, but the residents who live here," Johnston said. "They would be astonished with the number of people out here who need these services. Middletown is not just all affluent."

Neighborhood Place is like a one-stop shop for social services, bringing things like rental assistance, child protection, Medicare and Medicaid registration and welfare all under one roof.

The Charmoli branch located off Shelbyville Road is the only Neighborhood Place east of the Watterson Expressway. The next closest location is 14 miles away.

"It's a huge barrier to get those distances when you talk about someone who needs money to pay their rent or food to feed their children," said Jessica Fleischer, administrator of the Charmoli Neighborhood Place. "I'm afraid they will not go to other location, and it could mean families being evicted, put out on the streets."

Jessica Fleischer, administrator of the Charmoli Neighborhood Place

There's no closing date yet for the Charmoli Neighborhood Place, but the end is near for some other city services that were cut.

July 31 is the last day for Centerstone's Living Room addiction recovery program downtown.

"It picks you up and brings you into care and treatment instead of leaving you on the street," said Abbreial Drane, president and CEO at Centerstone. "For individuals living with a crisis of mental illness and addiction, we had a response here that was compassionate. It was immediate. That's the impact. Now it's gone."

Louisville's juvenile jail is expected to be funded through the end of the year. When the state takes over, it's expected to transfer troubled teenagers to detention centers far from home in places like Breathitt and Adair Counties.

The future for the Grade Lane fire station is less clear. It was slated to close in the budget, but the city's fire chief is working on an alternative.

Any plan would have to be in place by the end of the month. That's how long Mayor Greg Fischer has to sign or veto the budget.