A home is so much more than walls and a roof. It is a place of safety and security, comfort and connection. It’s a refuge that serves as a solid foundation for every facet of our lives.
At Catholic Charities of Louisville, the value of a stable home is at the heart of our programming. Every day, we directly assist the most vulnerable among us — many of whom are lacking or on the verge of losing something essential to thrive: a safe, functional home.
There’s our Sister Visitor Center, an emergency assistance program rooted in Christ’s command to feed, clothe and shelter those in need. If someone is unable to pay rent and in jeopardy of eviction, we can provide monetary assistance to stem the crisis while empowering the client to regain self-sufficiency. We also offer emergency financial assistance to help pay outstanding water or LG&E bills and prevent disconnection — because no home should lack running water or warmth.
Beyond that, Sister Visitor helps ensure all basic needs are being met inside the home, whether that’s by providing nutritious food via our supermarket-style Pantry of Choice or offering clothes and toiletries for self-care.
The mission of our Migration and Refugee Services program is to “welcome the stranger” with open arms, helping those escaping persecution begin new lives with dignity. That starts with a safe place to call home, a basic need that for many of these families, had gone unmet in their countries of origin. We begin helping refugee clients before their arrival by finding suitable housing and stocking it with food, clothing and furnishings — so it feels like a home.
Our Bakhita Empowerment Initiative provides direct assistance and case management to survivors of human trafficking. We work with willing individuals who are seeking ways to emancipate themselves and begin a new life, self-empowered and independent. Stable housing is often the number one need to uplift these clients. That’s why Catholic Charities is partnering with Our Mother of Sorrows Church to provide affordable apartments for trafficking survivors.
Then there’s our Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program, which provides a voice for long-term care residents when they are at their most vulnerable. We help clients acclimate to their new lives, ensuring they are treated with proper care and respect in the place they must call home.
Catholic Charities has long put faith into action by serving the most vulnerable in our community. For many clients, that means welcoming them to a new home that offers comfort, stability and hope for the future.
Now Catholic Charities is on the verge of its own new beginning.
For years, our staff has worked in aging, inefficient and largely inaccessible offices. For example, at our Fourth Street offices, staff and visitors stay bundled in coats during the winter, as indoor temperatures can dip toward 40 degrees. At our West Market Street campus, the three-story buildings have neither an elevator nor wheelchair lift. But a new home is on the horizon.
Soon Catholic Charities of Louisville will move into a newly renovated headquarters on East Broadway. Though we were hoping to be moved in by the holidays, construction delays have pushed that back into 2024.
We are eager to make the move, and we are hopeful it will happen sooner than later. But most of all, we are grateful for our soon-to-be new home.
Lisa DeJaco Crutcher is the chief executive officer of Catholic Charities of Louisville.
