LOUISVILLE, Ky. — A new facility meant to help people avoid prolonged homelessness has officially opened in Louisville.

Organizers of The Hope Village will start moving people into insulated tents Tuesday set up to help people get back on their feet within the next year.

The $1.5 million project is funded by the federal American Rescue Plan Act and approved by the Louisville Metro Council last year. The city hired The Hope Buss to run the site.

“People deserve to be in a stable and a safe environment,” The Hope Buss executive director Stachelle Bussey said. “I’m glad that we’re able to provide that, so I’m just really ready to get to work.”

Shelters at The Hope Village come with cots, bedding, toiletries, and access to electricity. (Spectrum News 1/Joe Ragusa)

The Hope Village provides insulated tents for people who were referred to The Hope Buss for up to a year. The shelters include a cot or two, some bedding, storage bins, toiletries and a power source. Portable showers and toilets are also on site.  

Bussey said she knows The Hope Village won’t solve all of Louisville’s housing problems, but the 48 shelters will make a substantive impact.

“I think it’s going to be successful — I mean, I know it’s going to be successful — so I think what it should do is make our city say we need to build more and more,” Bussey said. “We’ve got to put more resources towards these kinds of solutions.”

The Hope Buss is also working to help tenants find work and other, more permanent housing.  

The Hope Village project is one of several Louisville Metro Council members signed off on in Nov. 2021 to address the housing problem. Another part of the plan, which costs $89 million altogether, includes the $7.5 million purchase of a building next to The Hope Village at 212 East College Street to create more transitional housing options.