Kristy Love Foundation, safe haven for human trafficking victims, found to be operating illegally

In June 2019, neighbors of the Kristy Love Foundation, an organization that helps victims of human trafficking and drug addiction through recovery, complained that its residents were participating in illegal activities such as prostitution and drug dealing. Now, the organization was denied a conditional use permit that it had been operating without for years.

“This house has been operating for two years illegally in a residence in a neighborhood where people are trying to live,” Louisville Metro Council President David James said regarding the location on Date Street.

However, Angela Renfro, the founder of the Kristy Love Foundation, offered up her defense at the case's hearing, citing a ribbon cutting event which Attorney General Andy Beshear attended. Clearly, Beshear had no such reservations about the home's lack of permit.

Andy Beshear attends ribbon cutting ceremony at the opening of the Kristy Love Foundation's home on Date St. (Courtesy of WAVE 3 News)

“Sometimes the police call us asking do we have a bed available for a young lady they picked up off the street,” Renfro added.

Women who have benefited from the Kristy Love Foundation's care and recovery programs spoke at the hearing as well, sharing their experiences of how the foundation has helped them.

"I thought I was going to die an addict," one woman said.

The Board of Zoning Adjustment decided that the involvement of the state’s chief law enforcement officer (Beshear) as well as other individual police officers was not enough to warrant a permit after operating illegally for years.

“What I’m saying to you is this house is actually operating illegally,” James said. “If you open a liquor store, you don’t open it until you get the permits and the license. This house has been operating for two years illegally.”

I spoke with Renfro in 2018 at the foundation's house on Date Street which now faces closure.

“Whoever gets out first takes care of the others,” Renfro told me, referencing the time she spent in prison after being trafficked and abused for years. It ended up being Renfro who was released first, and after purchasing an abandoned home, Angela collected four homeless women off the streets and provided them with a place to live, beginning her mission of caring for the others.

“I wish somebody gave me somewhere to stay…that someone had stopped to say, ‘can I help?’” Renfro told me.

Angela truly became the person she wished to see in the world, helping those who were suffering in the same situation she escaped.

While Renfro was indeed running her organization without the proper approval, it is absolutely heartbreaking that James would compare a home where women can better their lives to a liquor store or any other business for that matter. Renfro wasn't ignoring the necessity of a permit in an attempt to cheat the system. Her non-profit foundation only seeks to better the lives of vulnerable women across Louisville and Southern Indiana.

Closing the Kristy Love Foundation may placate its neighbors on Date Street, but it's an enormous disservice to the community at large. Angela Renfro provided a safe space for some of the most marginalized members of society, and without her special brand of maternal, trauma-informed support, many suffering from addiction and forced prostitution will be trapped with no escape.

Please consider donating your time, money, or talent to the Kristy Love Foundation. The women they support everyday need your help now more than ever, and donations do not always have to be monetary. The Foundation is always in need of any household items (bed linens, cleaning products), robes, appliances, office supplies, beauty and personal hygiene products, and gift cards. Additionally, the Foundation also needs help with transportation and labor (minor repairs, painting, etc.).