The goal of our Rx: Housing Veterans initiative is to end veteran homelessness in Louisville. Our first Rx: Housing initiative was very successful and has cut the number of chronically homeless people on the streets by 50% since 2011.

To learn more about Rx: Housing, click here. To make a gift to support Rx: Housing, click here, and enter “Rx: Housing Veterans” in the Designation box.

In July 2013, the Coalition launched Bed One-Stop, a centralized way for homeless families and individuals to secure a bed at any of Louisville’s emergency shelters. Now, rather than having to wait at a shelter until the evening, not knowing whether or not there’s an available bed, any family or individual can come to or call our office to make a reservation during the day.

Between July 2013 and June 2014, we took calls from 9,360 homeless clients and met with nearly 1,700 people to reserve a bed at our office. In that same period of time, we referred over 2,200 people to local homeless prevention services. We now keep a waiting list for families and are able to get them into shelter based on those who have the greatest need.

Bed One-Stop won the Center for Nonprofit Excellence’s coveted Pyramid Award for the Art of Social Innovation in 2014.

To support Bed One-Stop, click here, and enter “Bed One-Stop” in the Designation box.

The fastest growing segment of today’s homeless population nationwide are young adults (16-24).  The fight for jobs due to our economy coupled with a lack of educational opportunities has led many in this group to seek help in homeless shelters. In 2013, over 500 young adults were forced to live in Louisville’s adult shelters–and we had 1,196 total homeless children living in shelter.

Two task forces have been created to address these issues. They are made up of local experts and agencies who serve these groups seeking ways to increase their services by working together. They have held focus groups with young adults in crisis within our city and are working to create solutions to lower the number of homeless children and young adults in our community.

All funding designated to this cause will be directed to the Coalition Supporting Young Adults and to our programs supporting homeless families with children. Past funding for these efforts has been provided by the Annie E Casey Foundation, PNC, and WellCare. Funding decisions are made by the task force members.

To make a gift to support youth and young adults, click here, and enter “Homeless youth” or “Homeless young adults” in the Designation box.