Ernesto, an immigrant of Cuba who was a friendly face at St. Vincent de Paul Louisville’s Open Hand Kitchen, was someone who was able to secure his own apartment earlier this year. Ernesto’s move to the States hasn’t been easy, due to a language barrier and lack of the proper paperwork. He and his brother shared an apartment and both worked to be able to make rent. When his brother unexpectedly became sick and passed away, Ernesto couldn’t pay the bills by himself. He lost the apartment and became homeless. He was on the waiting list for Section 8 housing, and came to Ozanam Inn Men’s Emergency Shelter last June. It was a team effort to get Ernesto housing, with three organizations teaming up—SVDP’s Case Manager Latoya Webb-Elliott, who worked directly with Ernesto, the Coalition for the Homeless, which completed his common assessment, and St. John Center, which had the Housing Voucher for his apartment. Webb-Elliott said, “Collaborating with local organizations who also care about the homeless makes it better because they have their resources and we have ours. Three heads are better than one.”
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