IBJ Podcast: Downtown fixture Wheeler Mission on verge of big transition

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Wheeler Mission has been an integral part of downtown for more than 100 years and is intrinsically linked to quality of life issues and downtown’s image. It’s now in the middle of its first leadership transition in 33 years.

When Rick Alvis became president and CEO in 1990, Wheeler Mission had 17 employees and an annual budget of about $700,000. Today, it has about 200 employees and an annual budget of nearly $20 million. On any given night, it provides shelter for about 550 people, which is about a third of all people experiencing homelessness in Indianapolis. And it’s widely known for its shelter services—to the chagrin of some downtown residents—although those services account for just one spoke in a four-pronged strategy to help men, women and children get the basic services they need, acquire job skills, move to stable housing and eventually become self-sufficient.

Now 70 years old, Alvis is retiring soon and helping ease the transition for his successor, Perry Hines, who became Wheeler’s chief development officer in 2021. In this week’s edition of the IBJ Podcast, Alvis and Hines discuss Wheeler’s evolution over the last three decades, perceptions of Wheeler in the community, perceptions of the homeless population downtown in recent years and why they think it’s important that Wheeler remain based downtown.

Click here to find the IBJ Podcast each Monday. You can also subscribe at iTunesGoogle PlayTune In, Spotify and anyplace you find podcasts.

You can also listen to these recent episodes:

IBJ Podcast: He stitched handbags in his Irvington basement, and now it’s a $1M business

IBJ Podcast: Amy Brown’s unusual route from family studies to tech CEO

IBJ Podcast: A look back at celebrated Indy jazz guitarist Wes Montgomery

IBJ Podcast: Internet banking pioneer Becker has bucket list but isn’t going anywhere

IBJ Podcast: Jeff Wood’s white-knuckle ride from F-16 pilot to head of Tom Wood Automotive

IBJ Podcast: Digging into Salesforce’s ‘restructuring’ and what it could mean for Indianapolis

Looking for another podcast to try? Check out IBJ’s The Freedom Forum with Angela B. Freeman, a monthly discussion about diversity and inclusion in central Indiana’s business community.

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