Prevention Displaced: When the Work Has No Home

​

The work of prevention—of substance use, of violence, of suicide—can’t pause because a lease ends. And yet, here we are. STYC, a coalition built on 10 years of youth-centered advocacy, education, and intervention, has been displaced from our physical space to make room for an affordable housing development. We support housing deeply. We recognize the importance of providing stable housing for the families in our service area. But it’s also true that prevention work needs a place to live, too.

​

We serve neighborhoods where trauma lives, where opportunity feels miles away, and where youth are making life-and-death decisions without enough guidance or support. Yet, in the very area where we are needed most, there's no office space available for us to continue that work.

STYC isn’t a large nonprofit with deep pockets or national branding. We are small, rooted, and nimble. Our power has always come from the people—the youth advocates who run workshops, the parents who show up, the partners who step forward because they believe in community-based solutions.

The Turning Point: The Power of Presence

A space isn’t just a space. It’s where a teen confesses, they’re struggling. It’s where we distribute gun safes and medicine lockboxes. It’s where we design workshops, practice refusal skills, plan retail compliance checks, record the Bet on Yourself podcast, and brainstorm PSA campaigns. It’s where prevention becomes real, local, and tangible.

 Call It Bold, Call It Visionary

Today, we’re putting it out into the universe: STYC needs a home.

We need a home that is ours. We’re calling on anyone—landowners, developers, community-minded businesses, nonprofits, and even faith organizations—who believe that youth in West Louisville deserve more. Not more surveillance. Not more consequences. More prevention. More care. More community.

If you have a vacant structure or vacant land…if you believe in the power of youth to transform a community…if you’ve been looking for a meaningful way to invest in long-term change—let’s talk.  Help us keep prevention rooted in the community it was built for.

STYC was never just a location. It was always a movement. But movements still need doors to walk through, tables to sit at, and whiteboards to dream on. If you can help, or know someone who can, reach out. And if not, please share this post. Sometimes, the universe listens through the people who read and respond.

Contact Info:

Angela Hollingsworth, Executive Director

Email: ahollingsworth.styc@gmail.com

 

 Kim Telesford Mapp, Chair

Email: Ktmapp@gmail.com

Website: https://STYCtalks.org
https://www.Instagram.com/stycyouthadvocates/