A significant financial boost was recently given to the Community Care Campus in Smoketown, an ambitious project that aims to solve homelessness in Louisville. The Jewish Heritage Fund (JHF) announced a $650,000 donation to help the transitional housing program for young adults being built by Volunteers of America Mid-States (VoA).
The money will assist in converting the former Vu Guest House into 15 transitional housing apartments for those between the ages of 18 and 24, who make up one of the fastest-growing groups of homeless people in Louisville. After construction is finished, YMCA Safe Place Services will run the program.
“The earlier we can get these individuals into stable jobs and housing, the more likely we are to prevent the compounding effects of homelessness,” said JHF President and CEO Jeff Polson to WHAS11. “Stable housing supports the physical and mental health of young adults, creating lasting opportunities for a better life.”
In 2024, Safe Place helped 158 young adults get refuge or services, up from 133 the previous year.
The Community Care Campus is anticipated to be finished in parts by 2027, with construction having started last year. It is anticipated that the first phase, which includes the new young adult units, a family emergency shelter, and the Unity House, will open in the middle of 2026.
Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg called the project “a national model for providing resources to help people get off the streets, stay off the streets, and find a new, positive path in life.”
The grant from the Jewish Heritage Fund covers the transitional housing program’s running costs for a full year.
The initiative supports larger investments in the Community Care Campus, which is being created in collaboration with Volunteers of America Mid-States and Louisville Metro Government.
This article appears in Oct. 1-31, 2025.
