Community Advocates for Resources & Empowerment Inc

Our mission is to offer community, advocacy, resources, and empowerment (C.A.R.E.) 

to unsheltered individuals and those experiencing housing instability. 

We connect them to opportunities for wellness, stability, and housing with dignity and respect.

C.A.R.E. offers three programs: 

• Outreach, which provides survival resources to unsheltered individuals living on the street and in encampments while developing trusted relationships, linking them to vital services, and assisting to navigate crises; 
• The Arthur Street Hotel (ASH), which offers low-barrier temporary shelter, case management, housing navigation, and community reintegration and life skills coaching to individuals who have experienced chronic homelessness; and
• Aftercare, which engages individuals who have moved into permanent housing, continuing to offer the instrumental and social support necessary to maintain a home.

The majority of C.A.R.E. clients have a diagnosis of severe mental illness and/or substance use disorder and have experienced chronic homelessness. Many have physically disabling conditions and all have experienced substantial trauma. Across programs and in every interaction, C.A.R.E. staff endeavor to increase clients' stability and self-sufficiency by providing resources to alleviate immediate needs, offer social support to address behavioral health crises, and facilitate connectivity to the larger community.

C.A.R.E. offers shelter, positive relationships, and wraparound services, with the aim to stabilize and house individuals who have experienced chronic homelessness. This population faces immense barriers to securing permanent housing, as well as the logistical challenges of completing paperwork and searching for housing while accessing basic survival needs. C.A.R.E. prioritizes privacy, dignity, and individualized support, recognizing the unique needs of those who have experienced trauma or are managing complex health issues. C.A.R.E. staff offer crucial support for housing navigation, harm reduction, and community reintegration services, as well as referrals to health care, substance use treatment, psychiatric care, and other critical resources. 

C.A.R.E. provides community. ASH welcomes some of Louisville’s most marginalized residents. In fact, ASH guests have been turned away from emergency shelters, rejected by hospitals, and cleared from public spaces due to their behavioral health conditions. ASH staff build trusting relationships, work through challenges, and de-escalate crises so that guests can stay at ASH while maintaining community safety, rather than barring them for displaying symptoms of past trauma. 

C.A.R.E. employs advocacy. C.A.R.E. staff have proven to be fierce advocates for our clients, on both the individual and systemic levels. We hold each other and community partners accountable so that clients receive the support they need, while challenging systemic failures, barriers, and gaps that oppress and exclude people living in poverty. 

 C.A.R.E. offers resources. Services and shelter are free to all clients, regardless of their length of stay. In addition to operations at the hotel, C.A.R.E. staff provide community outreach across Metro Louisville to locate individuals who need resources and continue to provide resources to former hotel guests after they are housed. 

 C.A.R.E. empowers those we serve. Unlike congregate shelter, a private hotel room offers dignity, stability, and agency. We strive to respect clients’ choices while supporting them to have more available options. C.A.R.E. staff also support clients to build the skills they need to maintain a permanent home.

Since opening in 2022, ASH has provided shelter and housing navigation for more than 500 individuals living on Louisville streets across the city, reducing the number of individuals relying on tents and goodwill for survival. Of those who exit ASH, 64% individuals moved into permanent housing. Another 22% exited to other programs in which they continued toward their stability plans.