Supportive services at Horizon House

In the course of the past year, I've spoken with many people who are surprised to find that the number of homeless people in Indianapolis is growing. Many of these people have been faithful supporters of Wheeler Mission, United Way, Habitat for Humanity, and other great organizations that they assume are taking care of our city's homeless folks.

As I talk to people, they seem to pretty much universally believe that if the homeless would just use these services, then they will be able to get their life back on track and within a few months will have a nice apartment in Pike Township, a used foreign car, and a manager position at a fast-food restaurant. After all, if the genius Chris Gardner in The Pursuit of Happyness could become a multi-millionaire, then a normal person should at least be able to get off the street and into a happy lower-middle-class standard of living.

In the Sept 11 Indianapolis Star, Carter Wolf wrote a very nice piece titled "Programs for homeless work if funded, supported" This article provides a succinct snapshot of the scope of homelessness in Indy. It also provides an overview of the supportive services that are currently available to homeless and near-homeless folks here in Indy.

I wanted to re-post the following reasons that Mr. Wolf gives to explain why the number of people without homes in Indy seems to be growing:

1. The organizations listed above (e.g., Wheeler Ministries, Holy Family shelter, Second Helpings, food pantries, the Homeless Initiative Project, Midtown Mental Health) are pressed for funding.
2. Minimum-wage and part-time jobs no longer provide enough for housing.
3. There are fewer homeless programs statewide than five years ago.
4. There are fewer case managers at all agencies to assist the homeless than five years ago.
5. There are fewer emergency shelter beds than three years ago.
6. There is only one day shelter left.
7. There is an increase in the number of individuals being released from incarceration.
8. It is more difficult for mental health providers for the homeless to receive Medicaid.
9. Section 8 vouchers are so difficult for this population to get, it is rarely is worth the effort.
10. There is a shortage of beds for indigent detox and extended addiction support.
11. There is a shortage of clean, safe low-income housing.
12. HUD, the governmental agency that provides most of the homeless support dollars, has shifted away from service-only programs such as Horizon House (currently supporting 40 percent of our budget).

Take a look at #12. Horizon House, which seems to be the first place people now go when they need resources to get off or to stay off the streets, could be losing 40% of its funding. You think there are a lot of homeless-looking people on the streets now? If the day center and supportive services that they provide are reduced, do not be at all surprised to see even more.

Please take a look at Horizon House and see if it might be something you, your friends, a class, or your church community would be interested in supporting.

You see, it isn't always simple

Today, we're getting the opportunity to find out just how difficult it is to keep someone at risk of being homeless from actually becoming homeless.

We met "Rick" through One Paycheck Away. Rick is a convicted felon and a registered sex offender. But on top of his legal status, Rick is also pretty low functioning (mentally), and in poor physical shape. He's not crippled or blind or anything like that, but he's probably a short jog away from a heart attack and I'd be shocked if he isn't borderline diabetic.

The conditions of Rick's parole stipulate that he must find housing and he must find a job.

For the past few months, some folks have chipped in to take care of Rick's rent, in exchange for him doing some light work. In addition, we have contracted with The Social Worker to help Rick navigate the system. The Social Worker has been taking Rick on some serious job searches lately, but due to the felony/low-skills/lack of transportation issues, they have had zero luck so far.

Rick's rent is due today. We really aren't comfortable with paying for another month, and though we're a pretty open house, we legally can't offer him a spot on our couch since OPA House is near a few daycare centers.

Rick losing his apartment will likely mean that he gets sent back to jail on account of the parole violation.

Here's what we've done so far to help Rick.

1. Call 211. I asked for any referrals for rent assistance, but the operator I spoke with there didn't know of anything. She did, however, give me the phone numbers for Good News Mission and Lighthouse Mission. Unfortunately, the number I was given for Lighthouse is not in service. I called Good News, and they are full (with a waiting list, and that's for a "hard wooden cot", as they put it). Plus, they don't accept people with a criminal history that involves children.
2. Go to the Center Township Trustee. The Social Worker took Rick down there last week, but they had to leave after waiting 2 1/2 hours. The case workers there told them that since it's first-come, first-served, you really need to get there about 7:30 AM, and you can easily end up waiting until after noon. Being somewhat desperate, another friend from church took Rick there again today, where they were told that they can't help you if you're unemployed, and that he shouldn't have got an apartment in the first place. I find this ironic, since their website says that to be eligible for assistance, you must "Have little or no income or assets." They also are supposed to have an employment referral service, but I haven't yet heard if this was offered to Rick.
3. Call the landlord and ask for an extension. OK, we were able to do this and get Rick an extension until Monday, Sept 17.
4. Call Wheeler Mission. Because, you know, things aren't looking good. They said
   they do have availability for homeless men, if you get there between 3:00 and 4:30 PM. I think they are just putting people on mats right now.
5. Call 211 again. You never know. The second time, the operator immediately knew that Lighthouse was closed and recommended Wheeler Mission. She also recommended looking at programs offered by PACE/OAR (an agency that helps ex-offenders to re-integrate into society), and the Indianapolis Urban League (I'm not sure this one will apply, since Rick isn't African-American).

Please let us know if you hear of someone who is willing to hire someone like Rick. He can do janitorial work pretty well; he just can't do it anywhere near a place a child might potentially show up. He also needs a good deal of supervision, since he tends to succumb to inertia pretty easily. That said, he's dependable and generally friendly.

What would your next steps be?