LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) — A Louisville hotel that provides housing and support for people experiencing homelessness is asking the city for help keeping its doors open.

The Arthur Street Hotel currently houses about 30 people at no cost to those staying there, though advocates say the building could hold more than 100 residents. They say the hotel is not taking additional guests because funding could run out by June.

VOCAL-KY, a local advocacy organization, said at a press conference Tuesday it wants Louisville to invest $1 million into the hotel to turn it into permanent affordable housing.

"Arthur Street Hotel is more than a building," said Christen "Tiny" Herron, the Director of Housing Services. "It is a lifeline for some of the most vulnerable people in our community. Arthur Street offers something our city needs and something that is not offered anywhere else in Louisville."

Beth, who said she had been on and off the streets for 20 years, said Arthur Street gave her stability when she needed it most.

"Until November of last year and Arthur Street took me in and I don't know if I'd still be here if it wasn't," she said.

Last year, the organization received $250,000 in taxpayer funding. Mayor Craig Greenberg unveiled his $1.1 billion budget proposal last month, which included money for affordable housing and other groups. However, providers at the hotel said they were left out of the spending plan.

"It is a very big disservice," said one community advocate. "Everybody in the city says 'oh, we gotta do something with our houseless population.' We keep seeing buildings being built and all of this other stuff, but I don't see anything happening."

The mayor's proposed budget includes more than $20 million for affordable housing and $500,000 for the mayor's "Home for Good" initiative, which aims to move 250 people experiencing homelessness into permanent housing.

Arthur Street leaders said the hotel has helped move more than 400 people into housing since opening in 2022.

"Arthur Street has already accomplished the numbers Home for Good has promised," Metro Council Member Shameka Parrish-Wright said.

"As things are becoming more unaffordable, we will see more people who will be unhoused," she said.

Without city financial support, those who work at the hotel said they might have to cut down on operations or even close.

A spokesperson for the mayor's office said Greenberg is working with the hotel on a proposal to "provide permanent supportive housing to individuals experiencing homelessness in Louisville" and is "currently awaiting those details." 

"Mayor Greenberg is supporting innovative and proven practices to help those experiencing homelessness find stability," the statement said.

Metro Council has until the end of June to pass the full city budget.

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