LOUISVILLE, Ky. — About $340 million Louisville received from the American Rescue Plan is still up for grabs. Now many will be spending the next few weeks advocating for a piece of the pie.
What You Need To Know
- Louisville Metro Council still needs to allocate $340 million from the American Rescue Plan
- Council members will hear possible uses for the funds at a meeting Tuesday
- Some are advocating that the money be used to create more affordable housing in the city
- The public can weigh in on the use of the funds at three upcoming public comment hearings or by filling out an online survey
On Tuesday, Louisville Metro Council will discuss how the funds can and cannot be used. Then, the public will have several chances to weigh in on where they'd like to see the money go. Cathy Kuhn, executive director of the Metropolitan Housing Coalition, plans to share her thoughts on this historic allotment.
“We know there are many competing needs, but I would argue affordable housing is the most critical issue we face right now,” said Kuhn.
Louisville Metro Council has $340 million from the American Rescue Plan that still needs to be appropriated. She's asking council members to set aside at least $100 million of that to create affordable housing options in the city.
“This is why this is such a historic opportunity because we can use these funds to develop new housing," said Kuhn. "We have had a critical underfunding of affordable housing for decades and decades, which is why we are in the situation we are in with the significant lack of affordable housing.”
To get more specific about the demand, Louisville's Housing Needs Assessment found the city needs to add over 31,000 affordable housing units to meet the need of those with the lowest income, which is described as people making at or below 30% of the median income in the area.
“It will go a long way in helping us to end our homelessness crisis. In a large way, the reason why our homeless system is not working is because there are no available units for people to go into to exit from their homeless experience," said Kuhn.
The city's most recent Unsheltered Homeless Initiative report found 47% of participants surveyed are experiencing chronic homelessness, which was up 10% from the year prior.
There are several upcoming public comment sessions to share thoughts on how to use the ARP funds.
- Saturday, July 17: 11 a.m.-1 p.m. at the ShelbyHurst Campus Founders Union Building, Room 201
- Monday, July 19: 6:30-8:30 p.m. at the Southwest Regional Library
- Monday, July 26: 6-8 p.m. at the West Broadway Church of Christ
People can also fill out a survey online.