Who We Are
PUSH Louisville is a union of working-class tenants organizing to develop and maintain community-controlled affordable housing in Louisville, KY.
We were founded after the victory of a four-year-long campaign to make working-class communities #policyprotected. Working-class people from all over Louisville, KY, came together to pass the Anti-Displacement Ordinance (ADO), the first of its kind in the US South. This pioneering legislation written by Black working-class tenants, set a new international precedence with the development of the Anti-Displacement Assessment Tool. This tool uses data to measure displacement risk. Displacement risk is the threat market-rate and luxury development pose on working-class communities because these expensive developments can increase the cost of living in that area beyond what current residents can afford. This tool will help our city decide on what housing development projects it will support with public resources. From this powerful campaign, a North Star and collective vision grew! Tenants and residents of working-class communities saw the critical need for community-controlled permanently affordable housing. Louisville Tenants Union Co-founder and ADO Campaign Lead, Jessica Bellamy, worked with core campaign members to form People United for Social Housing Louisville (PUSH Louisville) to enact the growing vision of the campaign.
Together, we utilize grassroots tenant organizing, political and shared-economy education, and neighborhood chapter development to PUSH Louisville forward into the future we deserve!
Our Vision & Mission
At PUSH Louisville, we are dedicated to creating and preserving affordable housing options for poor and working-class people in Louisville. Our team is committed to empowering tenants to build strong, collectively-owned, permanently affordable communities. We are actively building a multi-racial and multi-generation base of poor and working-class tenants in Louisville, KY. Our vision and efforts have led our team to create pioneering legislation and innovative housing development technology that is currently leading the nation in the fight against the housing crisis.
Our Commitment
ORGANIZE
We have built and are growing a base of working-class tenants engaged in a collective struggle around their shared self-interest to have guaranteed, permanently affordable, quality housing.
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We believe that the people closest to the problems are closest to the solutions. But having the solutions is not enough. We must also have power. We conduct research, basebuild, develop leaders and run structured campaigns based on gaining community control over land and other resources. We believe in nonviolent direct action as a way to build power.
RATIFY
We wrote and passed the 1st Anti-Displacement Ordinance in US South, and co-developed the 1st Anti-Displacement Assessment tool in the world! Our pioneering legislation and innovative housing development technology work together to protect working-class communities by requiring city-funded housing development to be affordable to current residents living in the area. This will make it easier for community-led affordable housing developers to get the resources they need to build the world we deserve.
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We anticipate the need to continue to develop policies to create systemic change to combat the housing crisis.
BUILD
Social Housing is affordable housing that is owned and managed by a community-controlled nonprofit organization, local government, or a combination of both.
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We organize tenant chapters based on a shared neighborhood, apartment building, or shared housing voucher program. Chapter leaders receive training and support to launch campaigns to gain greater control over the land and resources already in or coming to their communities. Our organizers empower chapter leaders with knowledge and support to enact social housing solutions. This includes but is not limited to support in applying and fighting for their community's public resources (i.e. land, money, government staff support). These resources will help them buy, develop, and/or maintain collectively controlled affordable housing in the short and longterm.
Annual Report
Stay informed about our progress, impact, and innovation by accessing our annual report. It will provide detailed insights into our efforts, achievements, and the challenges we face. Your support and involvement make a meaningful difference in our mission. The inaugural report will be released in late December 2024.