To see pictures of the event, click here.
Louisville, KY, (October 10, 2024) – When Exodus Family Ministries opened the doors to the Exodus Community Resource Center in October 2023, they became the city’s only full-service day shelter outside I-264.
While it wasn’t their initial plan to operate a facility to serve the unsheltered, after spending a year (2021) offering outreach services in Southwest Louisville and finding that they needed to drive their clients to multiple locations downtown to take showers, get forms of identification, meet with service providers, and access health care because the services weren’t available in the south end, the leaders of the organization realized a more efficient strategy would be to create a center in their area of town and bring the resources to their clients.
The faith-based nonprofit, which runs a food pantry and clothes closet at 6501 Bethany Lane, then spent the next 18 months building partnerships with service providers and renovating (as money became available) the run-down concession stand and garage of the former St. Denis Church at 4205 Cane Run Road to turn the space into the day shelter.
According to the Coalition for the Homeless, homelessness in Louisville increased 43% between 2018-2021 and continues to grow. While 12,263 individuals received some type of homeless services during 2023, the number of people staying in shelters or on the streets in Louisville on any given night was closer to 1,600. Of those, nearly 600 were living outdoors.
“While we were certainly helping to keep people alive in the camps by providing food, clothing, blankets, hygiene items, and other necessities, we felt like we would have a greater impact if we could bring them to a location where multiple service providers were working together to break down the barriers they were facing,” said Shane Schlatter, executive director of Exodus Family Ministries. “We set a goal of serving 100-150 people in our first year; yet, as word of our services began spreading inside the camps, more and more people wanted to come to get help.”
The organization’s service model involves driving two vans to approximately 20 locations in Louisville’s southwest neighborhoods three days a week to pick up individuals from their camps. (Their service area is south of Algonquin Parkway, west to the river, and east to I-65.) They then bring the people back to the center to receive basic needs, like food, clothing, showers, and laundry services. While there, clients can also meet with a variety of partnering organizations to access community resources and get case management services. Collaborating partners include Phoenix Health Center, the Common Assessment team, Department for Veterans Affairs, UK HealthCare, First Hour Grief Response, Louisville Metro Homeless Services Division, St. John Center, Coalition for the Homeless, KIPDA, assorted recovery programs, and other needs providers.
At the one-year celebration event for the resource center, which happened to fall on World Homeless Day, Schlatter revealed that—thanks to numerous volunteers, funders, and community partners—they far exceeded their initial expectations and have served 408 unique clients during 2,001 separate visits to the center in their first year. More importantly, they have helped 17 people get into permanent housing, 37 get into substance use disorder treatment programs, and two go into inpatient mental health programs.
Additionally, they:
– served 1,903 meals and gave clothing 1,371 times
– washed 968 loads of client laundry
– provided 297 rides to housing/doctor appointments or to recovery programs (in addition to providing TARC passes)
– facilitated 168 connections to partnering organizations to secure birth certificates, social security cards, and other forms of identification
– organized 246 connections to medical treatments, vital checks, medications, Medicaid, and disability certifications via Phoenix Health Center
– provided 44 connections to HIV/Hepatitis C screenings and harm reduction services via UK HealthCare
– made 129 connections to the Common Assessment Team (which is a critical first step in getting into housing)
– orchestrated 74 connections to the Department of Veterans Affairs for case management, VA benefits, and housing assistance
– helped 45 people receive grief/trauma counseling via First Hour Grief Response
– connected 27 clients to food stamps
– made 25 connections to the Louisville Metro Homeless Services Division for case management
– provided 194 other case management services
– and made 130 connections to cell phone providers
“It truly takes a village to do this type of work and see results,” proclaimed Pam Chancey, resource center manager. “We are grateful to the volunteers and community partners who have made our first year a success. Working with this audience requires understanding and commitment, so we appreciate the selfless people who offer their time and talents week after week at our center.”
“What makes Exodus so special is that they are bringing important services to a community where there have not been services previously,” noted George Eklund, education and advocacy director for the Coalition for the Homeless. “They help connect unsheltered individuals to more than just needed resources, they also connect them to people from their neighborhoods who understand the issues of the area.”
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About Exodus Family Ministries
Exodus Family Ministries is a Louisville-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that has been serving Southwest Louisville since 2014 through a food pantry, clothes closet, and homeless outreach services. Their mission is “to guide our neighbors in Southwest Louisville out of captivity – whether it be poverty, addiction, lack of education, hunger, or other forms of oppression – by offering support, prayer, and services to address these needs.” For more information, follow our Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/ExodusFamilyMinistries/, visit our website: https://ExodusFamilyMinistries.com, or call our main line at 502.614.8544.