Praise

Outreach Ambassador Gets Family Housing In Time for the Holidays

Outreach Ambassador Q helped find an unhoused family of six housing just in time for the holidays.

While bright color uniforms have come to be a staple of Block by Block Ambassador Programs, due to the nature of their work, Outreach Teams often do not wear any uniform at all.

These Ambassadors dedicate their working hours to helping individuals experiencing homelessness get connected with essential services. And, over time, we’ve found that they make more connections when they aren’t in uniform, as a uniform can be intimidating.

One of our Louisville Downtown Partnership Outreach Ambassadors, Quinton “Q” Thompson, has worked with us for one year, but in that short amount of time has dedicated himself to helping the Louisville community. He began as a Safety Ambassador but quickly found that he had a passion for outreach. Q can be seen confidently patrolling Downtown Louisville in his street clothes, making connections and meeting people with the purpose of helping get them off the streets into better circumstances.

Through a local initiative with the City of Louisville and Volunteers of America, the Louisville Outreach Team was approached to help find unhoused families who could move off the streets into a brand-new, block-wide campus that has both a shelter and permanent affordable housing built in.

“The family shelter has room for 15 families, and after seeing it on the tour, we were all excited and eager to do our part in helping to fill it and get families off the streets,” Q said.

Often, a challenge that Outreach Ambassadors face is finding street residents who want help or are willing to take help. But, just as Q was looking for families to move into this new facility, he serendipitously met a couple with four children who had recently moved to Louisville. Although they were unhoused, the parents were actively looking for work.

“Upon arriving here, they fell on hard times…I would never have even seen them had they not been out looking for work to improve their current situation,” Q said.

After meeting the family, Q knew instantly that they were a prime candidate to move into the new development. And, with his assistance, they were able to do just that. Right before some frigid Kentucky nights, Q helped get this family off the streets.

“For me to be in the right place at the right time to help someone who was trying to help themselves made it feel less like work and more like the right thing to do,” Q said.

Thanks to Q, this family will be celebrating the holidays with a warm place of their own.

Beverly Hills Ambassador Saves Child

Christopher has been hailed a hero for his quick thinking and bravery.

It’s a parent’s worst nightmare and can happen in an instant: a child darts from the safety of the sidewalk and straight into oncoming traffic.

Beverly Hills Ambassador Christopher Johnson saw just this situation unfold before his eyes during his first week of work at Block by Block. It was his quick thinking that prevented what could have otherwise been a tragedy.

Christopher was patrolling his assignment when he spotted the terrifying situation: a young girl started running straight into the street, with cars barreling down the road. Without thinking, Christopher jumped into the street, putting himself right in harm’s way. Seeing Christopher, traffic came to a screeching halt.

In those extra seconds when Christopher jumped into the street to stop the cars, the young girl’s father had just enough time to safely retrieve the child and pull her back to the sidewalk.

Christopher has been hailed a hero for his quick thinking and bravery.

“Although he has only been with us for two months, he has shown a remarkable willingness to go above and beyond his work assignments to represent the program and the city with the excellence it deserves. He consistently takes the necessary steps to ensure residents and visitors feel happy and safe while enjoying everything the Business Triangle has to offer,” Operations Manager Jon Hunter said.

We applaud Christopher for this outstanding act of bravery and are so grateful that he was on that sidewalk that day. We can’t wait to see what his future at Block by Block holds.