Wellspring

14th Independent Housing Site Opens

Aug 30, 2002

?“Mid pleasures and palaces though we may roam,
Be it ever so humble, there is no place like home?”
John Howard Payne

One goal cherished by Americans is the comfort of a place called home. Yet, the dream of a home can be a long journey with no obtainable outcome for millions of Americans with special needs or challenging circumstances.

According to a NPR report on housing, 68% of Americans owned a home of their own. Through the 1990s, the U.S. managed to combine growing prosperity with growing homelessness. As many as 3.5 million people are homeless and 5.4 million U.S. families are living in substandard housing. The housing crisis cuts across boundaries of race and class. However, certain groups are disproportionately represented. For many persons with a psychiatric disability finding secure housing is a primary need.

Wellspring is proud of what the organization has accomplished in 20 years addressing this most pressing of needs ?– securing decent, affordable shelter. This month, Wellspring opens its 14th independent housing site. This completely retrofitted single family home on Shelby Street in Louisville, Kentucky, warmly welcomes Barbara, a recent Ardery House graduate. She now enjoys a home with new plumbing, heating, air conditioning, flooring, windows, kitchen cabinets, landscaping, and a privacy fence surrounding a doublewide lot.

?“The bottom line is that Wellspring is being a good steward of public funding and advocate on behalf of community needs,?” says Steve Perkins, Executive Director. Perkins complimented the work of
Wellspring employees Bonnie Taylor and Brian Rosenbarger in their attention to the myriad of details involved in completing this extensive remodeling project.

Now that the renovation is complete, Barbara?’s house is rapidly becoming a home. When her black and white five-year old cat, Georgie, investigated the yard for the first time, Barbara said he immediately started purring and ?“you could just tell he likes it.?” Her well-tended yard and carefully chosen furniture promise a relaxing pace for summer?’s end, born of the confidence that comes from being ?“at home?”.