On June 11, 2019, the University of Louisville’s Commonwealth Institute of Kentucky (CIK) and Cooperative Consortium for Transdisciplinary Social Justice Research (CCTSJR) released a much awaited study on how to best address the issue of street homelessness.

For over two decades, Louisville has worked to address homelessness in a coordinated and comprehensive manner based on local data available from a community-wide Homeless Management Information System (HMIS). But the reality is that even collectively, the federal and local government and private donors do not make available enough funding to provide all the housing and services needed.

It is, therefore, no surprise that the first recommendation from University of Louisville is this: 

“Expand and evolve homeless services. Ensure individuals experiencing a housing crisis have access to the single point of entry system at all times. Reinforce the Housing First model and trauma-informed care within the Continuum of Care, such that a centralized case management team provides the accompaniment needed to navigate a complex system, resolve barriers, and move into and maintain a home.”

Presently, even with the addition of the new 100-bed low-barrier shelter opened at Wayside Christian Mission, only 67% of homeless singles and 54% of homeless families are able to access shelter when they reach out to ask for it. But we do not fully know if the issue is simply a mismatch of available space versus the need, or our community’s inability to serve new clients because those already in shelter are not getting assistance in using their limited resources to access housing as quickly as possible.

Dr. Susan Buchino presents her team’s findings at Louisville Metro Hall on Tuesday, June 11

Warehousing is not the answer. We need to help people—especially children who are greatly affected by the instability of shelter—identify their strengths, connections, and resources in order to use these to access housing. We also need to ask landlords and other community support systems to take a chance on those trying to return to stable housing versus turning them away due to past evictions.

Once we begin actively working to help each person in shelter quickly move to better and more stable housing, we can assess our system to determine if we still need to rightsize. Until we do so, our efforts with street outreach, homeless prevention and the camp ordinance are more a practice of moving people from one unsafe location outdoors or waiting list because they cannot quickly access emergency shelter.

I am excited to see that Metro Council has committed $1 million this year to work toward addressing this issue. While this allocation is still short of the great need, it does offer the opportunity to not just open space, but to include greatly needed services in local homeless shelters.

Eviction and homelessness can rock a person’s world and leave you with no bearings and little faith for the future. What we all want during these times is a helping hand and guidance through the complicated systems that serve the poor and homeless. Here is our chance to begin to work toward creating a city outlined by this excellent plan.

Here is a list of the eight key recommendations:

1. Expand and evolve homeless services. 
2. Improve encampment policies.
3. Create a system of low-barrier shelters.
4. Improve collaboration.
5. Increase housing and community development.
6. Address the root causes of homelessness beyond housing.
7. Increase community education and engagement.
8. Evaluate the outcomes of new policies and programs.

Meanwhile, I encourage you to read it all and find a way to personally plug in to making our city a better place. You can find the full report on our website here.

Natalie

About Us

The Coalition for the Homeless's mission is to prevent and end homelessness in Louisville through advocacy, education, and the coordination of our 31 member agencies. We have been the lead advocate for Louisville's homeless since 1986, when we were founded after several people died on Louisville's streets.

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