WHAT MAKES THIS PROJECT IMPORTANT?

AGENCY COLLABORATION – The Opportunity Campus is an unprecedented example in Kentucky of how nonprofit organizations can collaborate to provide a more efficient and effective process of serving participants. Through their memorandum of understandings and close proximity to one another, Goodwill and its partners on the Opportunity Campus are providing a collaborative and streamlined approached that makes it much easier for men and women to access a combination of programs and services that help them build self-sufficient lifestyles.

COMMUNITY REVITALIZATION – The 20-acre site where the Opportunity Campus will be constructed is on the former campus of a heavy-industrial manufacturing company that operated on the property for decades. Prior to Goodwill purchasing the campus, the property was identified as a brownfield site that housed a 400,000 square-foot dilapidated building that was an eyesore and safety hazard for the underserved community. Goodwill and Norton Healthcare’s $100 million in the property will turn what was an neighborhood eyesore into a beacon of hope that is expected to generate a sense of pride among the mostly African American residents who live in a community that has endured years of disinvestment.

INVESTING IN RESIDENTS – The services on the Opportunity Campus will help enhance the lives of residents in West Louisville, which is a nine-neighborhood community where the median household income is $21,000. The area has endured years of disinvestment that has left many of its 65,000 mostly African American residents underserved in a community that has limited employment opportunities. The collection of job training programs, second-chance banking, youth mentoring, restorative justice programs, free grooming services, drop-in childcare and legal aid will help West Louisville residents build more self-sufficient lifestyles.

SERVING UNMET HEALTH NEEDS – The Norton Healthcare facility on the Opportunity Campus will be the first comprehensive medical center built in West Louisville in more than 100 years. West Louisville residents suffer from some of the worst health conditions in the city of Louisville. The 40,000 – 60,000 square-foot facility will offer a host of relevant medical services that West Louisville residents often have to leave their communities to access. The emergency room services, outpatient functions, cardiology, neurology and endocrinology services at the facility will provide a level of healthcare convenience that most West Louisville residents have never experienced.