LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Nonprofits are continuing to receive citations from Louisville’s Department of Codes and Regulations for trash and urine. VOCAL-KY and the Kentucky Harm Reduction Coalition had 12 visits from the agency by April 20. That number is now up to 18 visits.
The organizations are racking up citations for trash, debris, feces and vomit.
“Over $5,000 worth of citations,” said Jennifer Twyman, drop-in manager and community organizer for VOCAL-KY.
The property on South Brook Street, that the two nonprofits call home, has been named in over a dozen citations since April 4. Twyman said they’ve been working on keeping their property clean.
“We’ve enlisted some of our folks, our unhoused folks, that are in the area. That’s the thing, when we build relationships with folks, we can help them keep things cleaner and better,” Twyman said.
A spokesperson for Mayor Craig Greenberg, D-Louisville, said it is regularly getting emails from concerned neighbors about the cleanliness and safety of the area. Twyman said the mess is a result of a need for more public trash cans and restrooms.
“Last week, we showed up at work and this [trash can] was here, and it is bolted down. Nobody can steal it. There’s a second one up on Broadway. We’re really just trying to encourage our people to use it and keep the area clean,” Twyman said.
She said there is still a need for public restrooms and more trash cans.
“That is why there have been issues down here because we’ve got a lot of folks down here that are not having their needs met,” Twyman said.
Spectrum News 1 asked the mayor’s office if that’s something it’s working on with the nonprofit.
“We rely on several local nonprofit organizations to provide services and shelter to people experiencing homelessness. Our homeless services staff provide free transportation to anyone wanting to go to an emergency shelter,” said Kevin Trager, Spokesperson for Greenberg.
To solve the problem, Twyman said the city needs more transitional housing, care and services.
“So really just going back to the basics of root causes, looking at how we got here, that’s the thing that the system doesn’t do very often is talking to our people that are directly impacted by these issues and saying, ‘what do you think will work?,’” Twyman said.
The mayor’s office said Greenberg’s administration has been providing people experiencing homelessness the tools they need. The city is building a $40 million Community Care Campus that will have transitional housing for 300 people when it’s completed in 2027.
The Codes and Regulations department said it has been talking with the property owners since April about solutions to the issues.
Spectrum News 1 asked the department if its number of inspections is consistent with similar violations.
“In this instance, the presence of human waste constitutes a health hazard, and we are adhering to standard procedures to ensure that public health and safety is maintained,” Emily Martin, the department’s executive administrator of communications told Spectrum News 1 in an email.
