After spending nearly a decade in the Peace Corps in China and Ukraine, and a long career as a director of a busy food bank, Louisville native Cassie Cairns identified Portland as the ideal home for her and her husband Lachlan. Now, she serves as Director of Impact and Advocacy for Cedar Lake Foundation, which supports 254 people with intellectual and developmental disabilities in the greater Louisville area, across 31 properties, in three counties. Her current role includes grant writing, advocacy, and government relations in Frankfort.
“Our hope is that our individuals not just survive but thrive,” Cassie said. “We want to provide the best care possible. They have access to work and travelling and anything they need to fulfill fun daily lives. We believe in community integration. Our individuals can go out and experience whatever they want.”
She and her husband moved to Portland in 2019, and employing their own hands-on skills started fixing up what she called “the worst house on the block” near 39th and Bank Street.
“We love older, historic homes, with good bones,” she said, noting the convenient proximity to river, interstate and downtown. “Our neighbors were reluctant at first, but they recognized that we lived there; we weren’t landlords. And we did the majority of work ourselves.”
Cassie is turning their whole yard into a “Kentucky Garden”, with nothing but native plants and flowers, and most importantly, no more grass to mow. “It’s about halfway there,” she said. “It takes a couple seasons for everything to grow and fill in.”
Her current job with Cedar Lake includes job advocacy and support for their residents, as well as fundraising events (like Give For Good Louisville), estate planning, and handling donations of land and vehicles for their transportation fleet, which help drive their individuals out in the world to jobs and activities (like the zoo and the circus). Cassie said some individuals even volunteer for other non-profits, like Feed Louisville, a touching example of the giving spirit of Cedar Lake.
“Our individuals are hilarious and wonderful,” Cassie said. “Cedar Lake is so large because people are thriving; it’s not skeleton crews. They get extended layers of service. We provide job training, help with trips to store. We have art and music therapy.”
In addition to Cedar Lake, she feels passionate about the success of other non-profits in the Portland neighborhood, which she said, “helps all of us. There are no downsides to neighbors having better lives.”
One thing that Cassie did not expect when they moved to Portland was the presence of predatory landowners, often from well outside the area. “We’ve been visited, at home, often, literally with checkbooks open,” she said, noting that she had to firmly and politely ask would-be investors to move along. “It’s unexpected that it’s so prevalent. Some people own hundreds of properties.”
But when weather allows, she loves visiting Shawnee and Lannan parks with their two dogs, a 13-year-old coon hound and four-year-old mutt to “chase the geese.” She said they love the Portland festival, the Portland Museum and are excited about the AHOY project.
“It’s great to see stuff coming to life,” she said, “and get people to appreciate what’s over here.”
