Louisville continues to face significant challenges around homelessness, with increasing demand for services across the city.
One of the organizations responding is Volunteers of America Mid-States. It’s developing a new Community Care Campus through a public-private partnership with Louisville Metro Government, with the goal of helping address some of the factors that keep people cycling in and out of homelessness.
LPM’s Ayisha Jaffer sat down with VOA President and CEO Jennifer Hancock to talk about the campus and its potential role in Louisville’s homelessness response.
This conversation has been edited for length and clarity.
Ayisha Jaffer: Where does housing fit into the mix of services the VOA provides?
Jennifer Hancock: One of the seven divisions inside of our organization is addressing homeless and housing, and that has become a growing part of our mission, particularly here in Louisville.
That includes our partnership with Louisville Metro and Mayor Greenberg to bring the Community Care Campus to life.
AJ: What is this campus meant to do, and how did you get involved?
JH: This is a campus that uniquely combines health care, housing and social services.
When Mayor Greenberg came into office, he pledged immediately that he was going to address the growing crisis of homelessness throughout our community. So when he came into office, he purchased that property in Smoketown. And he issued a request for proposals, and Volunteers of America responded.
The data showed from the Coalition for the Homeless that there was an uptick in family homelessness in our community. This is a population that we typically do not see on our street corners. They are the hidden population of the unhoused. They are in their family vehicles. They are sleeping on church floors and basements.
And so we responded with that data in mind, and said we'd like to replicate a program that we call Unity House, which is our family emergency shelter.
AJ: You walked us through what the new campus includes, but do you have anything further to add?
JH: We also have the opportunity to partner with Family Health Centers who will provide medical respite. Those are for individuals who are no longer inpatient-eligible, but they still need home health, but unfortunately, have no home. In addition, Family Health Centers will have a pharmacy on-site, and a primary medical clinic on-site.
YMCA Safe Place will serve young adults. These are young people who age out of care and on their 18th birthday, if they've been in the foster system, they're no longer eligible for certain benefits, and ultimately find their ways onto our streets.
And then we'll have some transitional housing and some apartments that families coming out of our other programs will be able to access.
AJ: In plain terms, how does this model work?
JH: This model works by having providers who were already working with these individuals on one physical campus together. There will be ongoing communication and collaboration between providers — a system of care that includes daily contact with those most vulnerable.
Over time, as people engage in services, they have less contact with case managers, health care navigators and community health workers. Those are some of the roles that will be based on this campus.
Ultimately, our plan is to build permanent housing on this campus as well, so that truly every level of care is available and accessible to those who need us.
AJ: Some people in the city experiencing homelessness have had repeated interactions with the city under the street-camping ban, including citations and clear-outs. Do you have concerns that those experiences might make people hesitant to come to the Community Care Campus?
JH: We will message this as a safe alternative, that we want people to come here because we can show them a pathway where they can live more independently and more successfully. So, yes, while we're being attentive to that, we don't believe that that's going to get in the way of the success of this project.
AJ: We've been talking about this care campus this whole time. When is it expected to open?
JH: We're actually serving families today on the campus, but in the spring of 2026 we will open what is called Unity House, which is the second program of its kind in Louisville that VOA will operate.
And then beyond that, we will start opening the other components. It's a two-year project from this point in time.
AJ: And for listeners who want to learn more or find ways to get involved, where do you recommend they begin?
JH: Our website is the best place to start. Volunteers of America is at VOAmid.org We have an entire landing page for the Community Care Campus. We've had a number of hard hat tours this year, and really appreciate people getting to see the campus.
