LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- A one-stop-shop for families in need is scheduled to close its doors Nov. 1.
The Charmoli Neighborhood Place at 200 Juneau Dr. is about to become the latest victim of Louisville budget cuts.
Cassandra Miller, manager of the Neighborhood Place, said she feels the loss personally.
"This is hurtful," she said.
Cassandra Miller, manager of the Charmoli Neighborhood Place
Neighborhood Places provide a one-stop-shop for social services like financial or food assistance and CPS. While seven Louisville neighborhood place locations still remain, the Charmoli Center was the only one east of the Watterson Expressway.
Brenda Johnston, a 64-year-old client, expressed her support for the center back in June.
"They would be astonished with the number of people out here who require these services," Johnston said. "Middletown is not all just affluent."
The Charmoli Neighborhood Place was empty and unstaffed on Wednesday, Oct. 23, just days before it's scheduled closure on Nov. 1, 2019.
At the time, Johnston came to the center to get food stamps.
"It's really upsetting, not just to me but to the residents who live here," she said.
The center's closure will mean the next closest Neighborhood Place option for Johnston will be 15 miles away. She doesn't drive.
Brenda Johnson, a client of the Charmoli Neighborhood Place
"People who are eligible and who need social services will go without is my biggest fear, because they can't get to another Neighborhood Place or another service provider," Miller said. "Knowing kids may not have a nutritious meal or not have food at all simply because mom or dad or grandma or whoever is caring for them might not be able to get to where they need to be ... that's hurtful"
The Charmoli Center just opened three years ago. A sign on the door Wednesday tells all Department of Community-Based Services customers that family support staff have already moved out of the facility.
The sign reads: "Attention DCBS Customers: Effective Sept. 13th, there are no Family Support Staff available at this location. For case inquiry, scanning documents, application of SNAP, Child Care, Medicaid and KTAP. Please call 1-855-306-8959. Visit www.benefind.ky.gov or Visit another DCBS location."
"There is always kind of repercussions and consequences to every decision that is made," Miller said.
Louisville Metro Council slashed spending to mostly cover rising pension costs. The $65 million hole meant cuts to most city services.
The Louisville Metro Police Department recently announced a major reorganization combining units, and the city's juvenile jail will close at the end of the year.
"The consequence to this particular decision is that we are closing services and pushing services away from people who truly need them," Miller said.
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