A Louisville nonprofit is giving residents a new way to get help to people living on the streets.
St. John Center’s new online referral tool allows people to alert the housing service provider about encampments or individuals experiencing homelessness. Users can input an address or use their phone’s current location to fill out the form. It also asks for basic details such as how many people there are who may need assistance and a brief description of the site.
Brian McAdams is the street outreach manager for St. John Center, which has been serving people experiencing homelessness in Louisville since 1986. McAdams said his team is ready to provide a “compassionate response.”
“We help with anything from getting connected to food stamps and Social Security, if you qualify, getting medical care that you need and making sure you have your identification: Social Security cards, birth certificates,” McAdams said. “Whatever it takes, ultimately, to get someone moved from homelessness to housing.”
McAdams said the referral tool can be a viable alternative for someone who may not want to report people to the city or the police.
Louisville Metro has stepped up encampment clearings in recent years, an approach that housing advocates say makes addressing homelessness harder. And LMPD has been citing people for “unlawful camping” after the state legislature passed the Safer Kentucky Act last year. City officials say they offer individuals a ride to a shelter and a needs assessment when removing their tents and belongings from public spaces.
Reports made through St. John Center’s form will go directly to the nonprofit’s six-person outreach team. Anyone who files a report can provide their name and contact information if they’d like a response.
“If you do want to follow up, we'll be restricted based on confidentiality about what we can provide, but we can at least say, ‘Yeah, we've been by there. Thanks for letting us know,’” McAdams said.
The most recent data from the annual Point In Time count in January shows homelessness is increasing in Louisville and across the Commonwealth. Volunteers found 1,831 people were without permanent housing this year, compared to 1,728 in 2024. The number of people considered “unsheltered” or street homeless also increased year-over-year.
St. John Center executive director Ra'Shann Martin said their referral tool will help them address the increasing need for services more effectively.
“The question that we’re getting all of the time is, ‘What are you guys going to do if there’s a loss of funding from [the federal government] or policy changes that further criminalize the people that we serve?’” Martin said. “The answer has been simple: We’re going to continue to do what we do with the resources that we have.”
The nonprofit’s greatest resource, she said, is fellow community members in Louisville.
