Council OKs $300K appropriation to assist homeless, panhandling population
The funds will allow the city to start a pilot job program for would-be panhandlers, offering work on projects like graffiti abatement, downtown cleanup or beautification.
homeless
Articles
Indy programs tackling homelessness awarded record federal funding
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has awarded nearly $5.6 million to Indianapolis Continuum of Care organizations—a group of social service agencies and not-for-profits that work together to tackle homelessness,
IBJ Podcast: Deaths are increasing among Indy’s homeless population. What can be done?
CHIP Executive Director Chelsea Haring-Cozzi, Horizon House Planning Manager Melissa Burgess and IBJ reporter Hayleigh Colombo join host Mason King for a discussion about the problem of deaths among the homeless population in Indianapolis.
Indianapolis grappling with increase in deaths among homeless population
At least 70 people died in Indianapolis last year who previously experienced homelessness, the highest number ever recorded by the Coalition for Homelessness Intervention and Prevention.
Council committee passes scaled-back proposal to extend parking-meter hours
The council’s Public Works Committee unanimously approved a proposal to standardize hours at all 4,000 parking-meter locations across the city.
Proposal to ban sitting, lying down in Mile Square withdrawn
Minority Leader Mike McQuillen, who said the purpose of the proposal was intended to curb panhandling and increase the sense of safety downtown, withdrew the proposal.
Proposal to ban sitting, lying down in Mile Square gets little support
A proposal to ban people from sitting and lying down in the Mile Square failed to gain approval in a City-County Council committee meeting Tuesday. The vote took place on same day the mayor announced a plan to dedicate $500,000 to take on homelessness and downtown safety.
Editorial: Circle must remain a showpiece but don’t overthink space
IBJ urges leaders from Downtown Indy and the city to continue looking for ways to better fund infrastructure improvements both on the Circle and its Meridian Street and Market Street spokes. That must be a funding priority.
Hogsett declines to take position on proposal that targets downtown panhandling
Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett said Wednesday that he is working with the City-County Council on the proposal and that the language is being vetted by city lawyers. The measure is opposed by advocates for the homeless.
GOP plan would ban sitting, lying down on downtown streets, sidewalks
Proponents say the plan would curb panhandling, but critics say it would unfairly target the city’s homeless population.
Abdul-Hakim Shabazz: It’s time for city to address homelessness downtown
Watching the homeless turn the Circle into a shanty town … can’t be good for anyone.
Federal tax credit will help former YWCA serve homeless
A historic downtown building half a block from the Central Library will undergo an $8.7 million face-lift&mdash.
Indianapolis homeless population shows 6 percent decrease in latest count
The decrease was taken as a positive sign by city leaders who are trying to increase efforts to provide more people with permanent housing.
Annual count shows fewer homeless people in Indiana, HUD says.
A federal agency says Indiana had an estimated 360 fewer homeless people during this year's annual count of the nation's people without a place to live.
New housing options for homeless foster stability
A 38-unit downtown apartment building for the chronically homeless that opened in January 2016 is Indianapolis’ first project to employ a so-called “housing first” model.
Hogsett pledges ‘permanent’ housing for 400 homeless residents
Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett faces a tough battle in taking on ingrained, multigenerational issues involving homelessness, poverty, education and crime. But in his State of the City address, he vowed to try.
City shifts approach to homeless services, lands $5M in federal funding
Advocates last year described funding cuts from the federal government as a “self-inflicted” wound. This year Mayor Joe Hogsett’s team is celebrating a funding increase.
HUD: Nearly 6,000 people homeless in Indiana this year
HUD says more than 5,100 of the homeless population was located in emergency shelters or transitional housing programs and nearly 700 were living on the streets.
Program aims to mend souls, create art
Purposeful Design’s high-end furniture is produced by a cadre of men who were formerly homeless, or substance abusers, or both.
Programs for homeless suffer big cuts as feds shift priorities
Programs across Indianapolis that provide housing and support to the homeless are bemoaning a $687,540 decrease in U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development funding this year.