Louisville Outreach for the Unsheltered (LOU) will open a new headquarters and resource hub at 1801 Portland Ave. this fall, bringing critical services closer to the city’s West End. The center will host a rotating schedule of providers offering medical care, harm reduction, case management, and housing assessments, with partners like the VA and Solution’s Health already committed.

The facility will feature a small medical clinic, bathrooms, private offices, and laundry services designed to encourage return visits while reducing clothing waste. LOU founder David Smillie says the goal is to “bring the services to where people need it,” ensuring outreach is accessible and rooted in harm reduction. Volunteers and donations of essential toiletries will play a key role in keeping the center running.

n the year since Kentucky passed the Safer Kentucky Act—making it a crime to sleep or camp on public property—over 400 people have been cited. Homeless outreach workers across the state, including L.O.U. Outreach Executive Director David Smillie, say the law has driven people deeper into hiding and further away from the services meant to help them. Volunteers at L.O.U. continue their weekly efforts, bringing food, water, and support directly to those in need, even as anxiety over enforcement grows.

The new law, aimed at reducing visible homelessness and pushing individuals toward treatment, has sparked debate. While some lawmakers call it a success, outreach leaders report that it’s made it significantly harder to reach and support those experiencing homelessness. The most recent statewide homelessness count shows unsheltered homelessness is rising, not falling—with many individuals too afraid to even be counted.

Despite these challenges, organizations like L.O.U. remain committed. Volunteers continue to show up, build trust, and meet people where they are, knowing that real help starts with listening—not citations.

Ten Louisville organizations, including Louisville Outreach for the Unsheltered (LOU), have received a combined $4.5 million in grant funding from the Bezos Day One Families Fund to support families experiencing homelessness. The funding will help expand housing access and tailored support services across the community. Grant recipients include Catholic Charities, Mama to Mama, LOU, Metro Office of Social Services, Option to Success, Salvation Army, St. Vincent de Paul, UP for Women and Children, Volunteers of America, and Wayside Christian Mission.

It all begins with an idea.

It all begins with an idea.

It all begins with an idea.

It all begins with an idea.