St. Vincent de Paul Louisville
SERVING THOSE IN NEED SINCE 1853
August 2026
Come As You Are: A single mother is supported, happy to be home Nearly a year ago, Destiny was a long way from home.
A domestic violence situation with her daughter’s father eventually led her into experiencing homelessness. “I was depressed,” Destiny said. “It was tearing my emotions and feelings down while I was already going through postpartum. I think I just got tired of it … I was crying all day.” A Louisville native, Destiny moved to Ohio several years ago to support her best friend, who was sick at the time. In Sept. 2025, the single mother of two young children fled from continuous verbal and emotional abuse and relocated to Louisville. She has a four-year-old daughter, D’Auri, and a one-year-old son, Kyiere. After an unsuccessful attempt to live with family, Destiny called the Coalition for the Homeless Coordinated Shelter Access line and was able to secure a room in our Domestic Violence (DV) Program. In Jan. 2026, she entered our transitional shelter, which provides temporary residence for those who do not need long-term support. This past fiscal year, Destiny was one of 234 individuals, including children, who we provided safety and stability in our DV Program.
Though Destiny was “terrified” on her first day—like anyone who walks into something new—she was immediately surrounded with support.
“The staff made me feel safe where I didn’t think I could be safe again. They listened to me without judgement and let me come as I am,” she said. “I got in my head that I was alone. I have family here, but when I needed that, they weren’t there … The acceptance is great. No matter what walk of life I’ve come from or anything I’ve been through or done, they still accept me and care about how I’m feeling.” SVDP Case Manager Kendra Hayes encouraged her to return to school. She is studying psychology at Jefferson Community & Technical College with hopes of a career in social work. She also received help securing resources such as Kentucky Transitional Assistance Program (KTAP), food stamps, and health insurance. She also had access to our Mental Health & Substance Use Program's one-on-one counseling. “I think being at SVDP, where people have been through similar things as you, allows you to build yourself up,” she said. “For the most part, my experience at St. Vincent de Paul has been good, but very humbling. I think I learned a lot about myself. I learned to never say, ‘That can’t be me’ because obviously it was me.’”
Every day, Destiny is making the right decisions to move closer to where she wants to be in life. “I just started thinking what would be best for my kids, and if I’m not OK, then I can’t be the best for my kids,” Destiny added. On June 9, Destiny and her children moved into a nice, three-bedroom, 1.5 bath rent-to-own home with their own backyard. She lives in one of our scattered-site units, where households can receive up to 12 months of rental assistance. Last fiscal year, we paid nearly $1.2 million in client rental assistance for our scattered-site units, and an additional $64,321 for client security deposits. “It's good to have my own space,” Destiny said. “Both of my children have their own rooms, so that's very exciting. SVDP helped furnish the apartment.”