LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Louisville's transitional outdoor space helping connect the city's homeless population with resources is now planning to start charging the people who live there.
The Hope Village opened in 2022 off East College Street, a community helping connect people with outreach resources and housing. The Hope Buss operates Hope Village, providing access to food, personal items and other resources.
Last summer, the village replaced the blue tents with small pods. About 50 kiosks, donated by CVS, now provide a more stable shelter for residents. Each pod has a cot, air conditioning, heating, electricity and other features.
"These are not homeless, helpless people," said Stachelle Bussey, executive director of the Hope Buss. "They have an address. They have a residence."
In the latest change, those living at Hope Village will now be paying to do so. Bussey said the cost is $75 per week, adding up to about $300 per month.
"One of the things that is obvious around the facts is that as city things change, as funding has been allocated different places, that things change around here," Bussey said.
Greg Donley has lived in the Hope Village for a year but hopes to soon get his own apartment. Nov. 7, 2024. (WDRB Photo)
Greg Donley, a Hope Village resident, said he doesn't mind the new cost. Donley said hard times and medical bills left him homeless. Before he arrived at the Hope Village, he was sleeping on a ledge over Breckinridge Street.
"I've lived here a year, and my rent has been zero," he said Thursday. "So if I have to start paying rent after a year, I appreciate the year of not paying rent."
Bussey is not calling the fee "rent" but rather a "service occupancy fee."
Donley has been part of the workforce program through various partnerships helping connect people with work. According to Bussey, 60% of the current residents at Hope Village are working.
"One partner we have, it pays $15 an hour," Bussey said.
Donley said having to start paying some for everything he's gotten at Hope Village is just part of the progression to his next step.
"When I go get my own apartment, I've got to pay my own bills," he said. "And if I don't get use to doing it, I'm gonna walk out that door and it's gonna hit me like a wall. And then I might be back sleeping on a wall."
He said his goal is to get back the life he once had.
"I'm trying to transition to the life I had before, which was paying rent, paying bills, paying water," Donley said. "You don't realize that until you become homeless. And then you miss it. And you miss the responsibility."
Bussey said the conversations surrounding the fee have included Hope Village staff and residents.
"We talk about 'Do we believe in the work? Do we believe in the program? Or do we just need to kind of close it?'" she said. "And it was a consensus of we all wanted to keep it open because we all believe in the work, and Hope Village is needed."
Stachelle Bussey, executive director of the Hope Buss. Nov. 7, 2024. (WDRB Photo)
Donley said if he needs a shirt for an interview, it's provided. So are rides, hygiene items and more. And he hopes to move on soon.
"I wanna leave this pod better than I found it for the next person who needs it," he said.
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- Hope Village transitioning residents from tents to pods for its houseless community in Louisville
- Louisville mayor plans to invest $32.5 million to end homelessness, add community care campus
- Louisville's outdoor homeless village connecting several with more permanent housing
- Louisville's Hope Village celebrates opening, plans for residents to move in this week
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