Thriving Kids
There’s nothing more important than ensuring our community’s children have what they need to thrive. LEARN MORE
- Our Youth Success team kicked off our new program year in August and since them we have been working diligently to connect our 219 Youth Success Network (YSN) partners to our menu of supports: Our monthly newsletter, academic supports, training and professional development, networking events, data supports, and capacity-building supports. Also since August, the Youth Success team has:
- Held 11 professional development workshops and two networking events.
- Worked with JCPS to host two OST Community Partner showcases that gave our YSN Partners the opportunity to exhibit their programs to school staff parents and youth.
- Our Ready for K Alliance recently hosted a Lunch & Learn advocacy 101 training with the Metro United Way policy team. Community partners were invited to network and learn how to engage in advocacy at all levels of government.
- In an effort to build the community’s capacity to utilize the Ages & Stages Questionnaires (ASQ), the Hub hosted two ASQ trainings in November. Providers from across the county learned how to implement and administer the screener within their agencies. Twenty-one participants attended the ASQ-SE (Social-Emotional) training, and the second training later this month already has 45 people registered.
- The Ages & Stages Developmental Screening Hub began our first mini library pilot in the offices of our healthcare provider partners. Participating offices will receive a small collection of children’s books for their waiting rooms, promoting early literacy and access to the Hub.
- Metro United Way has released an RFP for our Ages & Stages Questionnaires (ASQ) Partnership in Southern Indiana and is now accepting applications from nonprofit and community organizations. Apply here: https://metrounitedway.org/asq-partnership-rfp/
Strong Households
When families have what they need, they can break cycles of poverty and work toward a better tomorrow for future generations and our entire community. LEARN MORE
- The Hardship to Hope Food Relief Fund launched in response to the SNAP shutdown to keep families fed during a sudden crisis. In just eight days, Metro United Way and our partners provided $607,500 in digital grocery cards to 2,735 households—supporting 9,651 people, including more than 6,000 children. This rapid, dignity-centered effort ensured families could buy the food they needed while easing pressure on local pantries and strengthening our region’s emergency response network.
- Feedback from a food relief fund recipient: “Thank you so so so much for blessing my family and I with this tremendous gift! Words can not express the amount of gratitude I have. Because of you and your generosity, I will be able to get groceries for my children and I. I just lost my job prior to the snap benefits ceasing so everything hit at once. Thank you for making a way for me, I truly can’t thank you enough.”
- In the month of October, our 2-1-1 help referral line fielded 1,244 calls from members of Jefferson, Shelby, Oldham, Bullitt, Henry, Nelson, Spencer, and Trimble counties. The top request categories were rent payment assistance (956),utility assistance (400), and food pantries (275). IN211 fielded 262 calls from Clark, Floyd, and Harrison counties in the month of October. The main requests of callers were around housing, followed by utility assistance and food provision.
- Metro United Way is a proud partner with the Siemer Institute, an effort to stabilize families in areas related to income, housing, and education. Thus far in 2025, this effort has served 386 families, among whom,
- 83% have improved their income
- 88% have increased their housing stability
- 99% have avoided an unplanned, unsupported school move due to financial challenges.
- We are grateful to our six service providers for producing these strong results: Americana Community Center, Family Scholar House, Goodwill Kentucky, Jewish Family and Career Services, Salvation Army of Louisville, and Salvation Army of Southern Indiana.
- Our workforce financial coaching continues to produce impressive gains in the financial lives of Louisville residents. Through September, this multi-year effort has served 392 participants, of whom 297 (76%) have made progress in one or more financial goal areas, listed as follows:
- 79 have increased their income by a median of $12,480 per year
- 218 have increased their savings by a median of $1,011
- 111 have improved their credit by a median of 26 points
- 137 have reduced their debt by a median of $1,404
- The Housing Alliance of Louisville (HAL), which includes all organizations in the Greater Louisville region working to ensure every person in our community has as a safe and stable place to call home, hosted its first event geared towards landlords and property managers. Over forty landlords and service providers attended to identify issues of renter stability. Recognizing we all have the same goal, this event laid the ground work for future solutions-focused conversations. The Housing Alliance will be hosting more meetings like this in 2026.
- We just completed training for our first cohort of the Clinical Entrepreneurship program. This effort focuses on teaching mental health clinicians the basics of how to start their own private clinical practices to promote their own financial stability and address the growing needs for behavioral health services while distinguishing their current nonprofit organizations as employers of choice. More will be soon forthcoming on the impact of this new effort!
Equitable Community
We envision the Greater Louisville region as a place where zip code doesn’t determine destiny and everyone has the opportunity to grow into their full potential. LEARN MORE
- Our team facilitated Racial Wealth Gap Simulations for two groups this month—the Cities United national conference, hosted here in Louisville, and the staff of Carter Elementary School. Both sessions received enthusiastic feedback and helped participants better understand the historical roots of today’s economic disparities.
- Members of the Equitable Community team attended the “A Path Forward” town hall, hosted by the Louisville Urban League, focused on strategies to reduce gun violence and uplift community voice. Our United Neighborhoods program supported a California United community gathering titled “Let’s Build a New Chapter for Our Community,” providing an important space for local residents to shape neighborhood priorities and solutions.
- A well-received Empowerment Workshop capacity building opportunity was held for nonprofit partners, facilitated by Carl Williams of 20/20 Strategic Consulting, focused on leadership and sustainability in the nonprofit sector.