Merryman House Domestic Crisis Center received federal and state funding to develop the Merryman Village – a new affordable housing community for survivors of domestic violence.
A collaboration between Merryman House, Kentucky Housing Corporation, Federal Home Loan Bank of Cincinnati and WABUCK Development, the $12 million project will include 48 new apartment units on Paducah’s Southside within walking distance of a medical office, grocery stores, public transportation stops and businesses with job opportunities.
Mary Foley, the center’s executive director, said the development comes at a time of great need for the nonprofit. Merryman House is the only certified domestic violence program in the Purchase Area Development District, and the beds in its emergency shelter are in high demand.
“For the first time in the 14 years I’ve been here, we have a waiting list for emergency shelter,” Foley said.
The 36-bed space is meant to provide temporary shelter until individuals can be transitioned to more permanent living arrangements. However, Foley said the current shortage in affordable housing is making that process more difficult.
“We've created a bottleneck of those that are in crisis and needing to flee. We don't have a bed and we don't have a place to put them for them to flee, because we've got individuals that [are] no longer in need of emergency shelter, but we don't have a place to transition them to,” Foley said.
Domestic violence and homelessness are often linked. According to the National Coalition for the Homeless, 57% of all women experiencing homelessness say their primary reason for it is domestic violence.
“We cannot solve the whole issue of homelessness, but what we can do is do our part to make sure that survivors that are engaging with our mission at least have a pipeline to get to where they need to go,” Foley said. “Really, folks should have a safe place to live, no matter if they're a victim or not, right? But what we know is that victims of domestic violence, they must have a safe place to live. It's life threatening when they don't.”
Construction of Merryman Village is expected to begin in 2027.
