An interactive exhibit on wheels delivered the stories of real people with real struggles to Waterfront Park in downtown Louisville last week.
“It really opened my eyes,” said Dominican Father John Baptist Hoang, who toured the People of Hope mobile museum when it opened on May 14. “People really do go through tough decisions about money, transportation, food. It gets you in touch with the reality, rather than seeing poverty as an abstract concept.”
‘It really opened my eyes. … It gets you in touch with the reality, rather than seeing poverty as an abstract concept.’
— Father John Baptist Hoang, chaplain for Catholic campus ministry at the University of Louisville
He and a couple dozen others attended the museum’s debut in Louisville the morning of May 14. They toured the retrofitted tractor trailer, using a poverty simulator and other exhibits to learn about the people served by Catholic Charities around the United States.
Before their tours, Archbishop Shelton J. Fabre offered comments and prayers, then blessed the museum as it opened to the public.
“This exhibit is about the human dignity of each and every person, those who are served by Catholic Charities, and in a particular way to offer thanksgiving to volunteers,” he said.
“Thank you for all that you do,” he told volunteers gathered to see the exhibit.
The traveling exhibit is sponsored by Catholic Charities USA in partnership with Catholic Charities of Louisville. It visited Louisville through May 16 and will visit 21 states, mostly in the eastern half of the United States, through December. It will tour the western states in 2027. In the first half of 2028, the museum will visit communities that were missed or would like a repeat visit, according to a news release from Catholic Charities USA.
The museum, which can hold around 15 people at a time, takes visitors on a walk alongside people living in poverty. One segment, called “In their Shoes,” prompts readers to choose one of three tough decisions that many must make in their daily lives and see the outcomes.
The museum also includes 40 professionally produced video stories featuring staff and volunteers of Catholic Charities, a recording studio, a “learning library,” stories of hope and a place where visitors can share one way they will be more active in their community.
To learn more about the museum or the People of Hope mission, visit peopleofhope.us.
*This story was updated after the exhibit closed on May 16.
