A week before Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg went to City Hall to lay out his plan for next year’s budget, a coalition of 40 community groups penned a letter in the newspaper with a clear ask: Increase funding for new affordable housing and provide more support for homeless people.
The coalition — which includes Metro United Way, ACLU of Kentucky, Greater Louisville Inc. and others — warned that despite Louisville’s recent business and tourism growth, residents’ housing challenges “are more dire than ever.”
According to the most recent housing needs assessment, Louisville is short more than 36,000 housing units for its poorest residents. And, last year, a point-in-time count found a 10% increase in the number of people without a place of their own. Rents for market-rate apartments in Louisville rose 4% last year, one of the highest year-over-year increases in the U.S., according to real estate analytics firm CoStar. And with the threat of federal cuts to Medicaid and rental assistance, more people could be at risk of eviction.
The group called on Greenberg to increase spending on housing programs and the city’s affordable housing trust fund by about $12 million.
But Greenberg — who is behind track on reaching his goal for his first term in office of building 15,000 new affordable housing units — did not meet the coalition’s call.
Instead, he proposed $3 million in new funding for local housing initiatives.
These figures are not just numbers on a spreadsheet, said George Eklund, director of education and advocacy for the Coalition for the Homeless. He said the group’s requested increase for the Louisville Affordable Housing Trust Fund could create more than 300 additional units for low-income renters.
“That is your grandmother on fixed income that's just getting an SSI check,” Eklund said. “That's low-wage workers that are working two or three jobs part time around town. It’s also people that are permanently disabled, like those that are chronically homeless and need an affordable place to rent and to get off the street.”
Greenberg’s spokesperson, Kevin Trager, said in a statement that the mayor’s administration has increased the city’s contribution to the Louisville Affordable Housing Trust Fund and is in the process of building out the Community Care Campus, in partnership with Volunteers of America.
“Since 2023 our administration has worked to build more affordable housing across the city and provide people experiencing homelessness the tools they need to turn their life around, while at the same time ensuring our streets, roads, sidewalks, bus stops, and other public spaces are safe, healthy, and clear of tents, furniture, drugs, human waste, and open fires,” Trager said.
While the mayor’s proposed budget for 2026 doesn’t include everything the coalition asked for, Eklund said the roughly $3 million in additional funding is movement in the right direction.
“That is something that we're able to take and put into action and meet those needs of people on the street,” he said. “We're incredibly appreciative of the administration and the amount of faith that they put into our service providers to help with this issue.”
Still, Eklund and other coalition members will ask Metro Council members for more as the deadline for approving a final budget nears.
Breaking down the budget
The coalition launched a campaign earlier this year highlighting three areas that they say need more funding: the Louisville Affordable Housing Trust Fund, the Homeless Initiative Fund and housing stability services.
The group wants the city to boost its annual contribution to the affordable housing trust fund, which subsidizes affordable housing projects, to $25 million. Greenberg’s proposed budget would leave funding flat at $15 million.
The Greenberg administration created the Homeless Initiative Fund last year. It’s a pot of money awarded to local service providers through a competitive grant process. Eight organizations received $1.1 million in 2024 to hire case managers and expand emergency shelter operations.
The coalition wants $3 million allocated to the fund. Greenberg proposed $1.1 million.
The coalition also asked the city to double the $300,000 budget for the Legal Aid Society’s Right to Counsel Program that provides low-income families with an eviction lawyer. Greenberg’s proposed budget would keep funding flat.
Greenberg is asking the Metro Council to allocate $1 million to expand 24/7 shelter beds at the city’s Neighborhood Place and St. Vincent de Paul. Last year, Metro Council members approved a $700,000 allocation of opioid settlement funds requested by the Greenberg administration to create a formal diversion court for people who are cited for sleeping on the streets, with the goal of connecting them with housing, mental health and addiction services.
Another push for funding
In the coming weeks, Metro Council members will have an opportunity to make changes to Greenberg’s proposed budget. The council’s Budget Committee will soon release a list of proposed amendments that will include funding increases in some areas and reductions in others.
The coalition will ask Metro Council members to increase the Louisville Affordable Housing Trust Fund’s allocation to $20 million, a $5 million increase.
In the past, Metro Council members have been open to increasing funding for affordable housing or homeless services, but not at the level the coalition is asking for. The council’s changes to Greenberg’s budget proposal last year had just one housing-related addition: $467,000 for Volunteers of America’s Unity House emergency shelter.
Metro Council Member Shameka Parrish-Wright, a District 3 Democrat, said she supports increasing the allocation to the trust fund. She said she will also advocate for additional funding for eviction programs in light of the federal budget cuts.
“I think you're going to have a large influx of working-class people who are about to be living in their cars and homeless,” she said. “So, I think you need the money in the affordable housing trust fund to build that response.”
Eklund said the Coalition for the Homeless is pushing to have the $5 million earmarked for permanent supportive housing. Those types of programs provide wrap-around services for people who are formerly homeless with complex physical and mental health needs, he said.
“When we get somebody into permanent supportive housing, our providers locally are world class, they have a 97% success rate of keeping people housed for more than two years,” Eklund said. “We need to continue investing in this proven, well-vetted intervention.”
Other members of the coalition, like Metro United Way, are also lobbying Metro Council and explaining the importance of housing investments.
Liz McQuillen, chief policy officer for Metro United Way, said they are trying to protect the investments Greenberg has already proposed. She said the coalition isn’t deterred by not getting everything they wanted.
“Our initial request isn’t going to solve housing and homelessness in Louisville anyways,” McQuillen said. “It’s going to be a long process. We didn't get into this situation with homelessness overnight, and it’s going to take a lot more coordination and investment.”
Residents can share their own priorities for the city budget through the council’s online feedback form, which will stay open until June 9 at 6 p.m.
