Street Count Volunteers
COALITION FOR THE HOMELESS LOCAL ORGANIZATION WORKS TO COMBAT HOMELESSNESS THROUGHOUT LOUISVILLE Writer / Christy Heitger-Ewing
The Coalition for the Homeless has been helping those in need in the Louisville area for 35 years. According to Executive Director Natalie Harris, the organization started when leaders from a group of churches in downtown Louisville asked the county judge to assemble a task force - that task force created what is now St. John Center for Homeless Men, and the Coalition for the Homeless. “We were one entity at that point but soon realized we couldn’t do the direct service, and the larger advocacy and coordination work, so we split early on,” explains Harris. “We focus on the big-picture system change work.” More than 30 local agencies provide direct services for homeless individuals, including both day and night shelters and legal
services. The Coalition for the Homeless, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, also coordinates a homeless healthcare program and local family health centers. The Coalition for the Homeless leaders work to educate the public on homelessness prevention, and advocate for governmental policy changes to offer homeless people increased opportunities. “Homelessness is not the problem,” Harris says. “Homelessness is the result of a lot of problems in the community where systems fall down.” These problems may include insufficient housing, a drug crisis, or a breakdown in the educational system. If adult members of a family struggle to maintain gainful employment, unexpected expenses can lead to an increasingly desperate family situation. 16 / MAY 2020
“Perhaps their kid ends up in the hospital, or their car breaks down and suddenly they can’t pay their bills and are evicted,” Harris says. “The next landlord doesn’t want to take a chance on them and the spiral begins.” Though homeless individuals who fall into this category tend to remain homeless for a relatively short period of time, their transition back to permanent housing and employment can still be a difficult process. “Louisville is lucky in that we don’t have the crazy housing costs that places like, say, San Francisco does,” Harris says. “Still, we have poverty in our city, and all those failed systems are what creates homelessness. That’s why we try to educate the community to get people involved in making change.” The organization’s leaders strive to bring as many resources to Louisville as possible. Each year, communities may apply for
