A Shively homeless camp where a 60-year-old man named Brad has lived on and off for years is being cleared out, after the property owner began clearing trees and brush and warning residents in the area to leave. The camp has become a flashpoint for Louisville Metro Councilman Dan Seum Jr., who says it is proof that the city still has not done enough for people experiencing homelessness, mental illness, and addiction.
Seum, who represents District 13 and chairs the Louisville Metro Council's Public Safety Committee, called attention to conditions inside homeless camps like the one in Shively, according to WDRB. He said people are living in difficult conditions, and that housing alone is only part of the problem. Brad told the station he lost his home to foreclosure and has been on and off the streets for years; he said he now has a couple of places to go, including staying with his daughter for a little while, and Louisville nonprofit Exodus Ministries is helping him find an apartment based on his income.
A Widening Gap Between Camps and Capacity
Exodus Ministries, which helps people experiencing homelessness find housing and other resources, has reported that the number of people seeking its help has grown to around 90 to 100 visits, per the same WDRB report. That climbing need lines up with the 2025 Point-in-Time Count conducted for the Louisville Continuum of Care, which found 1,831 people experiencing homelessness in Louisville, including 633 unsheltered residents and 618 people experiencing chronic homelessness, according to Re:Center Ministries.
Emergency shelters have not kept pace, with shelters regularly full, according to the Louisville Coalition for the Homeless. Louisville has launched several efforts to move more people off the streets, including the Home for Good initiative, which is working to move people experiencing chronic homelessness into permanent housing.
According to Louisville Metro Government's Program Year 2023 Annual Action Plan, the city planned to build 210 new apartment units as part of its housing efforts. Louisville Metro Government records list $1,706,071.74 in total cumulative expenditures for services to homeless individuals and families during the winter of 2022-2023.
Enforcement Under a Strict New Camping Law
The Shively camp's clearing comes against the backdrop of Kentucky's House Bill 5, the Safer Kentucky Act, which took effect in July 2024 and made unlawful camping on public streets or sidewalks a violation. A first offense is a violation carrying fines up to $250, while subsequent offenses become Class B misdemeanors. Statewide data from July 2024 to July 2025 showed Jefferson County accounted for 41.7 percent of all first-offense unlawful camping citations in Kentucky, a disparity Hoodline detailed in its report on a Louisville lieutenant's suspension fight tied to the law's enforcement.
Local rules add another layer of complication. Under Louisville Metro Code Ordinance 131.03, city authorities must give 21 days' notice before clearing an encampment on municipal property, but camps on state-owned land, such as highway underpasses, are sometimes cleared with as little as 24 hours to 10 days of notice. That patchwork has already sparked controversy: in September 2024, an LMPD officer cited a pregnant unhoused woman under a downtown overpass under House Bill 5 shortly before city workers discarded her mattress, a case Hoodline previously reported drew public pushback over enforcement practices.
As a prior example, Louisville Metro said on September 14, 2021, that it was giving 21-day notice before clearing homeless encampments within a six- to eight-block radius downtown, according to a city notice distributed through Granicus. In a separate November 2021 case, officials posted 24-hour notices before clearing another downtown Louisville homeless camp, WLKY reported.
Seum's Push for More Beds and Broader Commitment Powers
Seum said more needs to be done for people struggling with serious mental illness and addiction, and he called for changes to when someone experiencing a serious mental health crisis can be taken into treatment. He also called for state hospitals to be reinstated and said there simply are not enough beds for people who need treatment.
Kentucky's existing framework includes the state's Mental Health Hospitalization Act, KRS Chapter 202A. Other laws discussed in connection with treatment include Tim's Law and Casey's Law.
New Crisis Center Aims to Fill a Gap
Louisville has put money toward expanding mental health services, and one piece of that effort is close to opening. In May 2026, the Louisville Metro Council approved $1.15 million to help launch a downtown behavioral health crisis center operated by Seven Counties Services, designed to give people a walk-in and first-responder drop-off alternative to an emergency room or jail, according to Louisville Metro Government. Seum noted the crisis center is expected to open soon, though he still wants more treatment options overall.
For now, people like Brad remain in a holding pattern between camps and whatever housing they can piece together on their own. Seum has framed the continued presence of people living in camps as a sign of gaps in Louisville's homelessness response, even as the city funds new programs and enforces a stricter camping law. Similar strains on housing and infrastructure have surfaced elsewhere in Louisville's homelessness landscape, including in Hoodline's recent coverage of a fire that gutted the home of a prominent local advocate.
