St. Vincent de Paul | Louisville

Courier-Journal article written by Sheryl Edelen

Feb. 3, 2010

After 18 months of living clean and sober, and nearly a year after reuniting with her three children, Melissa Loyless says a big part of what has kept them on track has been where they live -- the St. Vincent de Paul Society's DePaul Apartments.

The 12-unit complex on Preston Street offers long-term housing for homeless single women with children.

"If I hadn't moved in here, there would have been no way for me to get my kids back," Loyless, 39, said. "They're awesome. They really support you ... with things that help keep you going in the right direction."

If all goes well with lining up financing, the St. Vincent de Paul Society hopes to begin work this spring on a $5.7 million expansion that will provide similar housing options to others like the Loyless family. It plans to add 54 housing units at two sites on its campus, which is bounded by Preston, Jackson, Kentucy and St. Catherine streets.

At the northeast corner of Kentucky and Jackson, St. Vincent de Paul plans to build 20 two- and three-bedroom units similar to those that make up the DePaul Apartments. On the south end of campus along St. Catherine, the agency will build 10 one-bedroom units, as well as 24 dorm-like units that would share kitchen, bathroom and community spaces.

Residents will sign yearly leases and pay rent on a sliding scale based on federal income guidelines.

The facades of the units, said St. Vincent de Paul executive director Ed Wnorowski, will be similar to those at nearby developments such as Liberty Green and have the same goal in mind -- to merge them seamlessly into the surrounding neighborhood.

The demand for such units, however, is impossible to hide, Wnorowski said.

"There is such a great existing need," that the agency keeps a waiting list for the 12 DePaul units, he said. Loyless and her children -- Gannon, 10, Skye, 8, and Makayla, 7 -- were able to move into theirs last April.

While there, all of the families work with a staff case manager to reach self-sufficiency. According to the agency's Web site, many of the mothers work toward a living-wage job by earning a GED or higher-education degree, working in a substance abuse recovery program and raising their children.

For now, Loyless said she's working to make sure her children handle their transition back home. All of the children are undergoing counseling, and Makayla, who is autistic, is also undergoing speech therapy.

Meanwhile, Loyless said she's grateful that she's not facing a deadline while dealing with the family's issues.

"That would stress me out," she said of thoughts of moving. "I want to make sure that everything is completely ready when we get out there."

The funding for the project is to come from a variety of sources, including federal tax credits.

Wnorowski, who took over as head of the agency in July 2008, said that development of the expansion project began three years ago when the tax credits became available, but the struggling economy has delayed groundbreaking for a year.

But things are coming together, he said. Project plans have cleared metro planning and design hurdles and only await approval by the Metro Council.

"For people coming out of homelessness, it's often difficult to find appropriate housing," he said. "We don't think we'll have a problem filling them when they're ready."

And once there, Loyless said, residents can expect to find much more than just a roof over their heads.

"Everyone needs a shot of hope," Loyless said. "Moving in here and having my kids gives me hope."