The Coalition for the Homeless has received the needed funds to launch a pilot program to house homeless young adults in Louisville, officials said this week.
Officials said the Host Homes Pilot Project for young adults has received $53,500 in grant funds and can move forward.
The project will assign a case manager to homeless people between the ages of 18 and 24 and help them find a permanent home. Participants will be housed temporarily with a volunteer family for up to three months.
Volunteering families would be trained and screened and young people participating would choose which family they would like to stay with. Director of Development Melissa Kratzer said only a few families have shown interest so far and more are needed.
Kratzer said it’s the coalition’s first program focusing on homeless young adults. She said the young people need stability.
"[The program is] really needed because shelters are no place for a young person to be, and the streets are no place for a young person to be,” Kratzer said. “If we can invest in young people and intervene now before it gets too late, they’re actually able to get on the right track.”
The project is expected to begin within nine months. Kratzer said the program could be expanded in 2019 if it’s successful.
More information about Host Homes Pilot Project can be found here.