Up Initiative of Madison County needs help to create a new space

BEREA, Ky. ( FOX 56 ) — The Up Initiative of Madison County serves people who are unhoused and underhoused in the community. A new base of operation will help them in that mission, but they need the public’s help to make it happen.

The Up Initiative is working on moving into its new spot on 1315 Gabbardtown Road. They’re offering limited services for now, but the goal is to go all out serving everyone in need. Co-directors Rebecca Cates and Shelbi Poole are doing what they can to make it happen.

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“The first time we walked through this facility, we knew that this was exactly what we’ve been looking for, and it would give us room to grow and give our people the things that they needed that we didn’t have room for in the other space,” Cates said.

But with all the new resources, it takes time to get things ready. The new base will include a kitchen, shower, laundry services, and a bigger food pantry, most of all a bigger spot for multiple organizations.

“We have partnerships with University of Kentucky, we have partnerships with Mountain Comp. (Mountain Comprehensive Care Center), we have partnerships with Madison County Tenants Union, so all of those services will be available in this one building,” Cates said.

The next step is getting all these resources loaded in, and that’s where community help comes in with donations.

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“We’ve been kind of playing catch up where we’ve been moving from our old facility to our new facility. Our pantry is needing a little bit of love. We need to purchase some food for that, and we have to raise funds for that,” Poole said.

The team envisions this space becoming something the community can rely on in need, with every donation bringing them closer to that initiative.

“When we came in, we saw brown walls and brown floors and carpet and all of that stuff, and we immediately started envisioning what we could do here. Our neighbors came in with us to help load in, supplies, donations. They looked around and they see what services are going to be available to them and what wonderful resources they’re going to have access to now that we’re here at our new facility,” Poole said.

The Up Initiative has an Amazon gift list for those interested in helping.

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