Initiative aims to house people living in encampments INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Organizers of Streets to Home Indy are celebrating the early success of an initiative aimed at giving people who are homeless a chance to secure a stable home. The program, announced last June, already housed 114 peopl e from three closed three encampments: Former Black Mountain, Tyson Site, and Leonard Street and two zone areas in downtown Indianapolis. The goal now is to house 350 people for a year in the course of three years. “People do not choose to be homeless. People are driven into homelessness for many reasons and are trying to survive out there. People want stability. People want safety. People want a chance,” Chelsea Haring-Cozzi, of the Coalition for Homelessness Intervention and Prevention (CHIP INDY), said. The program under CHIP INDY not only houses people, but gives them access to wraparound services like health care, job placements, and support for a year. The aim is to create a stable environment, so people will remain housed. A similar initiative has seen success in Oklahoma City, Cleveland, Atlanta, and New Orleans. Sherry Hoffman was homeless for 6 years before being housed by the program. “Who prepares to be homeless? Nobody does.” Hoffman says her life spiraled after her husband died and her house caught on fire. She ended up living in an encampment. “But, you know, there was security in that because we all know each other, we all watch out for each other. It was nothing planned. It was hard. It wasn’t something I prepared for, so I didn’t know how to get out of it.” Damien Center, Indiana’s oldest and largest HIV/AIDS service organization, has offered housing and emergency assistance for years and is assisting in the initiative. Its president, Alan Witchey, says people who live in homeless encampments are hardest to house since there hasn’t been a specific program targeting them, until now. “This population is different. They go to a riverbank or wooded area to sleep every night, so it’s a very, very specific population. It’s exciting to see that they have housing options. So many of them have never had that option before.” The city-wide $8.1 million initiative involves multiple organizations, religious groups, corporations and law enforcement. The city of Indianapolis provided $2.7 million, $2.7 came million from the Housing to Recovery Fund, and $2.7 million is actively being raised by philanthropic, faith, corporate, and individual donors. The money will be spent on rental assistance, move-in kits, outreach, housing navigation, and purchasing property. Unlike previous homeless initiatives, this new one focuses on intentionality and urgency. Organizers say they house people in 27 days unlike previous programs that take 100 days. “Streets to Home Indy gave me back my life,” Hoffman said. She is grateful. “They have given me a life. If it wasn’t for them. I’d probably be back where I was. And you guys would probably be in my funeral next month. They are saving lives. They are changing lives.” ...read more read less