Louisville program brings therapy to communities affected by homicides

Louisville’s Community Sanctuary Project aims to rebuild community and safety in neighborhoods affected by violence.
The project helps residents reclaim community spaces and feel safe using resources like parks and libraries.

As the clouds rolled in on a stormy Thursday in July, pastor Nathan Horton walked up 10th Street, beckoning neighborhood kids and drivers to stop outside the Western Library.

Under a tent behind him, trays of hamburgers and chips waited, along with workers and counselors from Louisville’s Office of Violence Prevention, armed with fliers, water bottles and information for local resources.

The event, one of several held this July, was part of the Community Sanctuary Project, which has been heading into neighborhoods across Louisville for a year and a half, trying to rebuild a sense of safety and community for residents rocked by violence.

Horton is part of a group of grief counselors, community outreach workers and other local faith leaders who crisscross the city, bringing trays of food and coolers full of drink with them. They set up in churches, outside libraries and in front of community centers, reestablishing a feeling of security in places where the memory of violence lingers.

As of July 21, Louisville Metro Police have reported 61 homicides in 2025. That number is down more than 30% from the 90 homicides reported at the same time in 2024.

For families and neighbors affected by the deaths who may not be able to afford grief counseling or therapy, the program serves as both a mental health support and a remembrance for those who were lost.

“It’s really about the grief,” Horton said. “They want to talk with counselors about the grief. You hear about what kind of person that got killed, and then you hear about coming together in unity.”

The program is run by the city’s Office of Violence Prevention, which works to reduce and prevent violent crimes and gun-related homicides. The Community Sanctuary Project hosts an event after almost every homicide and tries to help communities where assaults, fights or other crimes occur.

Horton said over 7,000 people attended events set up by the program in 2024.

James Tatum, director of the Office of Violence Prevention, said the program is centered around three things — food, faith and mental health services.

“We’re trying to show that the violence that is occurring in these places where these things are set up — that is the abnormal thing,” Tatum said. “This is trying to take these spaces back, trying to show that you can hang out in front of the library. You can hang out in the parks where we set up. You can hang out at the rec centers.”

The program is split into two days, with the first day always hosting a cookout and often a sermon or speech from a community religious leader. The second day offers private grief counseling for those who requested it or couldn’t attend the first day. Horton said the two-day program allows people to both connect with their community and receive private counseling, if needed.

Horton said summer is always the busiest, with the program planning several events each month to combat the rise in homicides and violent crimes as the weather warms. Over the winter, when things cool off, the program’s numbers slow.

Metro Councilman Ken Herndon, whose district covers the Russell neighborhood and much of downtown Louisville, said the program can help encourage people to feel safe when using community resources, like parks or libraries.

“You get people feeling comfortable out here, then they might go in,” Herndon said. “That’s inching toward better things, especially for kids, because kids are the most traumatized by violence.”

Sharon Trowell, who attended the July 17 event at Western Library in Russell, said she doesn’t live in fear, but she does have concerns about violence, especially among the younger generation.

“I love my community,” Trowell said. “I just wish they would do better sometimes.”

Reach reporter Keely Doll at [email protected].

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