Plan focuses on So. Indiana homeless problem
More than two years after Jeffersonville and Clarksville leaders formed a community task force to help find solutions to tensions stemming from city sweeps of downtown homeless camps near Interstate 65, a new plan is taking shape to help those experiencing homelessness.
The plan, which is currently in draft form, includes strategies aimed at ending homelessness in Clark, Floyd and Harrison counties by 2025, said Melissa Fry, director of Indiana University Southeast’s Applied Research and Education Center.
Fry said the full plan will be completed following final public forums this month. It will also include an analysis summarizing the current state and needs of the homeless in Southern Indiana.
The plan’s overarching goals currently include:
•The community service system will be well coordinated to address needs efficiently and effectively with clear connections between diverse community institutions and human services
•Diversify funding sources for the community services system that prevents and responds to homelessness
•Minimize the amount of time that individuals and families spend homeless by providing effective case management and planning for ongoing need
•Empower individuals and families to obtain appropriate housing and services
•Decrease the percent of the population ages 20 to 35 with less than a high school diploma or equivalency to 6 percent or lower by 2025
•Increase access to education, training and re-training necessary to obtain gainful employment
•Produce local jobs that will allow working people of varied skill levels to support themselves and remove barriers to employment
•Improve health and address physical and behavioral health to improve stability
Jeffersonville city leaders funded the ambitious $30,000 study.
One of the possible plan recommendations is rectifying the lack of a day shelter, a place where the homeless could get off the streets to warm up, shower or eat a meal. Currently, the homeless frequent area libraries, as well as regular meal spots provided by area churches through Jesus Cares at Exit 0 homeless ministry and Guilt Edge Baptist Church, which offers meals at the King’s Table.
Exit 0 director Paul Stensrud has been among the most vocal advocates for a day shelter, among other homeless issues, in recent years.
Barbara Anderson, who runs Southern Indiana’s only emergency homeless shelter, Haven House, believes there’s also room for a day shelter. Haven House currently has just over 100 residents, about 15 to 20 over it’s intended capacity.
“My biggest concern is the plan needs to be honest about what it’s going to cost,” said Anderson, who also is secretary of the National Coalition for the Homeless.
Indianapolis has the Hoosier state’s only current day shelter, which has an annual budget of about $400,000. While Southern Indiana’s homeless population is much lower than in the state capital, Anderson said it would require a significant community investment since it may not obtain much in federal or state grants.
For example, 40 percent of the $2 million allocated to the state through the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Homeless Emergency Solutions grant is set aside for “rapid re-housing,” meaning only 60 percent of it is available for shelters. And most of HUD’s Continuum of Care grants are roughly between $15,000 to $23,000, Anderson said.
“People would have to step up in a real way,” said Anderson, adding she hopes local leaders will also step up to put the plan into action.
Anderson said she has a stack of local homeless studies that have been drafted at various times since 1989, at least five other plans totaling about $267,000.
“It’s been done to death and not one time has it come off anyone’s desk to do anything with,” she said.
Reporter Charlie White can be reached at (812) 949-4026 or on Twitter @c_write.
Community forums
Two final forums are scheduled to gather input on the current Southern Indiana homelessness plan:
•February 11, 6:30 until 8 p.m., New Albany-Floyd County Public Library
•February 18, 6 until 7:30, Jeffersonville Township Public Library
To learn more, go to https://www.ius.edu/arec/community/presentations.php
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