Our Why

Our Why

Families need basic supports beyond decent affordable housing to thrive: food, education, employment, child care, transportation, health and mental healthcare, trauma-informed care, and children’s services.

Our Impact

UP continues to grow substantially, the reality is we outgrew our space in our first winter of operations. UP continues to pursue options for funding so that we can secure our next home. If you know someone who may be able to help us secure space in the downtown Louisville area, please connect with us.

UP is a forward thinking, creative, supportive and responsible organization, committed to meeting women and children where they are in their need. UP continues to collaborate with partner agencies, advocate, and be a part of the solution for women and children experiencing homelessness in our community.

Our Impact

Our Goals

UP helps women gain independence so that they can leave an abusive partner or the trap of sex trafficking. We offer a safe, welcoming, warm place where a woman who has been living in her car can go to feel human again. We have created a haven where women can bring their young children without fear for their safety.

As a member of the Coalition for the Homeless, UP provides a centralized, low-barrier, and welcoming location where the Coalition’s partners can more efficiently provide services, from legal aid to vaccinations to support groups. In many ways, our shelter is a hub for the city’s health advocates to serve homeless women, who previously could not be found in a centralized location.

For example, Family Health Centers does weekly outreach at UP for the Common Assessment (which is used to prioritize those most in need of housing) and FHC also has a Family Nurse Practitioner who is onsite all day on Mondays. Legal Aid offers services twice per month, a state program offers monthly confidential HIV screenings and the Health Department offers biweekly covid testing and administer vaccines.

Help

You can make a difference

  • Advocate – Affordable housing is critically needed in all neighborhoods. Contact your local council members to advocate for more affordable housing and permanent supportive housing in your community. Advocate for legislation that directs funding toward affordable housing and homelessness services.

  • Use Your Voice – Start conversations with your friends and family about why homelessness exists – putting a human face to this issue is critical.

  • Donate – Another way to get involved with UP is by contributing financially, which makes the work we do every day possible. You can make a donation here.

  • Volunteer – Donating your time to ending homelessness by volunteering with a service provider is a great way to make an impact. If you’re in the Louisville area, we have a number of individual and group volunteer opportunities available here.

  • Sign up for our Newsletters — Our bimonthly email updates you on the latest happenings at UP. Sign up by filling out the form here.

FAQ

FAQ

  • Each person’s story is unique, of course. Experiencing a life crisis without financial or family support can land almost anyone out on the street. Common issues include domestic violence, a major illness or accident with no medical insurance, extended unemployment, drug or alcohol addiction, and mental illness. Families seeking housing face many barriers: high rents, long waiting lists for subsidized housing, credit problems, previous evictions, mountains of paperwork, and the challenge of communicating without an address or phone number.

  • Our strong community of volunteers is what makes our work possible! We have several opportunities available to groups and individual volunteers. To volunteer with a group of friends or coworkers, you can simply fill out an application here, and a staff member will be in touch with you.

    To volunteer individually, you must be over the age of 18 and attend both a volunteer orientation and training (in that order). Volunteer orientation will familiarize you with UP’s programs, mission, and volunteer opportunities, and the training will provide more insight into the community UP serves. Information on orientations and trainings will be offered soon.

  • Yes, we have several off-site opportunities for volunteers under age 18.

When co-founders Amy and Andrea envisioned the agency, they knew they wanted to unite with other community agencies that were working to provide essential resources to those experiencing houselessness, hence our name; Uniting Partners for Women and Children. UP provides a centralized, low-barrier, and welcoming location where community partners can more efficiently provide services from legal aid, to vaccinations, to medical care. We are so grateful to our community partners for providing an array of needed services at no cost to our guests or our agency. We are proud to partner with you and look forward to when we have more space to bring in even more community partners!

Partners

Our Community Partners

  • Aetna

  • Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield

  • Association of Community Ministries

  • Bridgehaven Mental Health Services

  • Catholic Charities

  • Christ Church Cathedral

  • Center for Women and Families

  • Child Protective Services

  • Coalition for the Homeless

  • Counseling Associates of KY

  • Dare to Care Food Bank

  • Department of Resilience and Community Services

  • Family and Children’s Place

  • Phoenix Family Health Centers

  • Family Scholar House

  • Feed Louisville

  • First Unitarian Church

  • Free 2 Hope

  • God’s Design

  • Golden Arrow

  • Goodwill of Kentucky

  • Granny's Birth Initiative

  • Jefferson County Public Schools

  • Happy Home

  • Home of the Innocents

  • Hope Village

  • Humana

  • Isaiah House

  • KY Coalition Against Domestic Violence

  • Kentuckiana Regional Planning and Development Agency (KIPDA)

  • Kentucky Career Center

  • Legal Aid Society

  • LifeWireless

  • Louisville Free Public Library

  • Louisville Metro Health Department

  • Louisville Metro Police Department

  • Louisville Metro Government

  • Mental Health Lou

  • National Council for Jewish Women

  • Nearly New

  • Northeast Christian Church

  • Passport

  • Peace Hospital

  • Planned Parenthood

  • RAK Louisville

  • Re:Center Ministries

  • YMCA Safe Place Services

  • St. Bernadette Diaper Bank

  • The Salvation Army ShelterWorks

  • Simmons College

  • SNAP Nova

  • Society of St. Vincent de Paul

  • St. John Center

  • Syringe Exchange

  • Transit Authority of River City

  • University of Louisville Hospital Emergency Room and Emergency Psychiatric Services

  • University of Louisville Kent School of Social Work

  • Vocal-KY

  • Volunteers of America

  • Wellspring

  • Women of the Well

Financial Transparency

Transparency matters to us at UP. That's why we are proud to make our annual IRS Form 990 available for public viewing on our website. This form provides valuable information about our activities, governance, and financial performance. By sharing it with you, we aim to uphold our commitment to openness, accountability, and responsible resource management. Explore our Form 990 below and reach out to us if you have any questions.

Financial

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