to the JCMS board and, after numerous meetings and discussions over nearly a year, the JCMS became a partner in Mission House. The partnership was, in part, a tithe of time and service, but also an exploration of and an attempt to determine the roots of homelessness in the shelter’ s inhabitants.
Over nearly a decade, JCMS p l a y e d a n increasingly pivotal role in supporting Mission House. Cardiologist, Dr. Don Moseley, and Mrs. Rose Gardner, the wife of Dr. Gardner, emerged as key volunteers in
Photo Credit: The Healing Place staff managing Mission
House. Recognizing the instrumental role JCMS members and auxiliary played, the keys to Mission House were handed over to JCMS on Aug. 19, 1989. According to Mr. Davidson,“ Thirteen Louisville doctors and five community leaders took a bold and courageous step by committing to take ownership and operation of an overnight shelter for men.” The Jefferson County Medical Society Outreach Program was thereafter created out of Father Morgan’ s original Mission House. A search for a director was undertaken and the eventual hiring of Mr. Davidson to direct the program set in motion the evolution of the contemporary version of The Healing Place.
Mr. Davidson brought two decades of military experience and an understanding of addiction, through his own history of struggles with alcohol, to his role as director. Mr. Davidson drove the development of a peer-driven social model for recovery, a model that outperforms other programs nationally both in client sobriety and cost per client. The Healing Place was designated a“ Model That Works” by the Department of Health and Human Services by 1998. Today, The Healing Place provides an integrated model of treatment from detox to long term support and serves over 1,000 clients with food, shelter and treatment on a daily basis. Having long shed the image of a“ flophouse” under Mr. Davidson’ s leadership, client Reggie Ezell acknowledged to Celebrate Freedom attendees that Mr. Davidson“ pushed me, challenged me, would not let me hide.” Mr. Ezell’ s recollection of Mr. Davidson’ s influence is a microcosm of today’ s The Healing Place at large.
Country singer Kasey Musgraves debuted her third studio album, Golden Hour, in 2018, long after The Healing Place had been dubbed“ The Miracle on Market.” Ms. Musgraves, who has been open about her own substance use, included the song“ Rainbow” as the final track on the album. The song strikes a remarkably resonant chord with those struggling with addiction – I felt it almost a soundtrack to the iteration of stories of addiction presented at the Celebrate Freedom Dinner. In the opening stanza, she intones a relatable lyric: It’ s hard to breathe when all you know is the struggle of stayin’ above the risin’ water line. Current Healing Place clients boldly shared their stories, almost universally with details of dark and difficult times, as a feature of the annual dinner event. Time and again their struggles with addiction echo Ms. Musgraves’ lyrics, where the storm of addiction, even in bright times, is never far afield. The sky has finally opened / The rain and wind stopped blowin’/ But you’ re stuck out in the same ol’ storm again.
In a song originating as an encouraging note to herself during a dark time, Ms. Musgraves chafes at her predictable reaction to one of life’ s storms, You hold tight to your umbrella. She is aware, much as the listener, the umbrella won’ t save her from a storm any more than substance use will for the user. The evolution of her note-to-self into an album track, as she contends, offers“ a message of hope for anyone in the midst of dark times.” The courageous clients of The Healing Place addressing their addiction, including those who shared their stories publicly, convey the ultimate in self-realization by letting go of the grip of addiction. Ms. Musgraves, for her part, states it lyrically, urging both herself and the listener to, Let go of your umbrella‘ Cause, darlin’, I’ m just trying to tell ya that there’ s always been a rainbow hangin’ over your head.
The legacy of our medical society as a founding institution for The Healing Place should engender a sense of pride for members of GLMS. The valor demonstrated by the JCMS physicians who wagered a stake in a homeless shelter, doing what no one else at the time would, is still echoed daily by the clients of The Healing Place who show up and put up as they face down their addiction. Our JCMS forerunners, like Ms. Musgraves, were blinded by the colors of others, even in the throes of addiction. This legacy is evidence of what a strong medical society and robust organized medicine can accomplish. The 2025 Celebrate Freedom dinner was both a reminder of the pivotal role of JCMS in the existence of The Healing Place, as well as a celebration of Jay Davidson’ s decades of leadership. Moreover, it was an exaltation of the courage of thousands who have sought treatment at The Healing Place, showing up on the doorstep deep in struggle but with a rainbow hangin’ over their head.
Special thanks to Mr. Lelan Woodmansee, retired executive director of JCMS / GLMS, for his assistance in preparation of this article.
Special thanks to Jay Davidson for over 30 years of service to The Healing Place.
And special thanks to the thousands of clients of The Healing Place who have fought their addiction with courage and contribute to our community meaningfully on a daily basis.
* In 2005, the Jefferson County Medical Society( JCMS) changed its name to better represent all the physicians in our community to what we now know as the Greater Louisville Medical Society( GLMS).
Dr. Kolter is an internist with Baptist Health.
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