Thursday, April 22, 2010
Next Louisville: South/Southwest Louisville
Over the years South/Southwest Louisville has had farms, a mall (Westland anyone?), major department stores, and even a zoo! Nowadays the neighborhoods keep growing, but new retail development is hard to find. Residents are proud of their area and many who move away return, so why is it so hard to attract businesses? How can South/Southwest Louisville become a bigger player in the Metro?
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Members of a southwest Louisville church are embarking on an ambitious capital campaign this weekend.
Some of the funds raised by Beechland Baptist Church in Pleasure Ridge Park will be used for internal improvements, but Pastor Ken Hollis says the church is also asking the public for help to expand a counseling service that’s used by members and non-members throughout the community.
Hollis says there are relatively few places in that part of Louisville where people can seek help for problems such as depression, marital and family issues, or addiction.
“I’m not sure as to why that is,” Hollis said. “But there’s just very little counseling out here. “So most of the time people need counseling, they’ll end up downtown or in the east end.”
Hollis says the number of people seeking counseling at Beechland has also increased sharply since last year.
In addition to Hollis, the church’s counseling staff includes students from Campbellsville University’s Louisville campus who are working toward an advanced degree or a state license.
Hollis expects the goal of the campaign to be between $4 million and $5 million.