LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WAVE) – Goodwill Industries of Kentucky will now be able to help more young adults in need in the Louisville area after opening its new Young Adult Opportunity Center on Oct. 23.

Officials with the organization described the new addition as essential to the community.

“Since opening our doors in 2021, we have seen over 1,400 young adults in much smaller spaces,” Nicole McGill, Goodwill Kentucky’s director of young adult services, said. “So to be able to have this brand new, beautiful building means our capacity and our reach is just going to be bigger.”

The center, which is located at 216 West Chestnut Street, is meant to meet the needs of people ages 16 to 24 who have issues finding and keeping employment or who struggle with self-sufficiency.

It will feature services that include barrier identification, soft skills training, educational assistance, behavioral and mental health services, legal assistance and expungement, digital and financial literacy training, resume writing and job placements among others.

“We understand that it may be hard to be successful in any of those areas if you have a lot of barriers, so we provide supportive services to reduce barriers like transportation, mental health, housing, clothing, and technology,” McGill added.

The Young Adult Opportunity Center will also be the new home of The Spot, a program developed in partnership with KentuckianaWorks.

The Spot’s programming helped Kerrion Watts get out of a dark place in his life.

“I was dealing with a lot of trauma, a lot of pain, a lot of anger,” he recalled. “I was more so drowning in my sorrows. I was drinking all the time, popping pills, smoking all the time. Just wasting my life.”

Watts remembered how the help he got at The Spot allowed him to regain control of his life one step at a time.

“First it started just mentally with you learning about yourself and what your emotional triggers are,” he explained. Watts then learned how to properly interact and communicate with people and he now has a career in the service industry.

He is now hoping the Young Adult Opportunity Center will help other young adults find success in their lives.

“If you are in a dark place, just know there is light at the end of the tunnel,” Watts pointed out. “People understand how you feel and if you feel alone, there are people that have also felt alone and they know what that feels like and they can guide you.”

If you or someone you know is interested in these services, you can click here for more information or you can visit the Goodwill offices located in downtown Louisville and in Shively.

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