With homelessness on the rise in many communities, an expanded “street outreach” effort will be launched next year thanks to a federal grant, in what officials say is a needed step in the right direction to address the needs of a growing homeless population.
Cass County-based 4C Health received a grant from the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration that will, in part, allow the behavioral health services organization to continue to fund dedicated outreach teams in Cass County and expand its efforts to Miami and Howard counties over the next five years, beginning next year.
Each county will have one dedicated street outreach team — made up of a peer recovery specialist and an assertive community treatment specialist — with the exception of Howard County, which will have two teams thanks to County Commissioners there approving extra funding through its allotment of opioid settlement dollars.
The street outreach teams will be tasked with going out in the community and connecting with the unsheltered and sheltered homeless population, with the goal of not only directing them to available housing and services but maintaining the housing and services for as long as needed.
Housing won’t only be a shelter but could be a hotel for a few days or a friend or family member’s residence.
Another goal for the street outreach team is to connect with more of the unsheltered than what was previously possible. Working with local organizations will also be key, 4C Health says.
“We’re trying to break down that first barrier, which is when someone’s unhoused, they’re not looking to set up a primary care doctor or get a therapist,” Alana Leese, director of adult intensive and residential services at 4C Health and the project director for the new federal grant, said. “They’re looking for their next meal or where they’re going to stay. So it’s getting into the community, seeing where these folks are and then taking away that big barrier so then we can work on the rest of the things that they might need.”
That may include helping them obtain a government-issued I.D., or signing up for Medicaid or some other form of insurance.
The street teams will also be equipped with “survival backpacks” that include first aid kits, blankets, gloves, small food items and more that can be handed out.
Officials with 4C Health called the new initiative “a game-changer” for the area that will allow those experiencing homelessness a way to get the help and services they need, if they so choose.
In order to get participation, building a rapport will be key and has been key in Cass County. Many of the peer recovery specialists are those who went through similar hardships, whether it’s mental health struggles or drug addiction.
“Some don’t want to be found, they don’t want to be helped, but having someone who looks like them and has been through similar things and meeting them where they’re at and a whole team embracing them, it’s really empowering,” said Steven Emerson, a peer recovery specialist for 4C Health and part of the Cass County street outreach team. “Now, they’re starting to trust a little bit more (in Cass County) and are willing to accept help.”
RISE OF HOMELESSNESS
Each year, communities conduct the Point-in-Time homeless count survey, a day which offers a snapshot of homelessness in the state on a particular night.
The survey is required by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development for every community receiving federal funds for programs to aid the homeless.
The survey is not a perfect science as it requires those experiencing homelessness to self-report at a particular location each year on one day in January.
As such, the survey is likely an undercount because not every homeless person turns out for the Point-in-Time count, no matter how heavily it is promoted.
Still, the PIT is the best guess a community has, and the most recent numbers indicate those experiencing homelessness are on the rise.
In 2024, Indiana recorded a homeless population of 4,584 on Jan. 24. That was an increase of 186 to 2023’s total.
In Region 5, which includes Cass, Howard, Tipton, Wabash and Miami counties, 2024’s PIT total was 213, a marked increase from 2023’s recorded total of 173. In 2022, the region reported 148 experiencing homelessness.
In Region 8, which includes Hamilton, Boone, Hancock, Hendricks and Madison counties, 2024’s PIT total was 256 individuals, up from 205 in 2023 and 239 in 2022.
Vigo County, part of Region 7, reported PIT totals of 170 in 2024, up from 157 in 2023 and 126 in 2022.
Notably, Region 5 reported a more than tripling of those reporting to be “unsheltered,” from 20 in 2023 to 62 in 2024. The other aforementioned regions have also seen an increase in the unsheltered homeless population.
The increase in the unhoused has largely been attributed to rising housing costs in recent years.
CITY RESPONSES
As a result of the increase in the unsheltered, the issue of homelessness has become more visible to the general public, and that has elicited responses from municipalities.
Various responses have been seen across CNHI Indiana communities.
In Kokomo, the City Council passed a controversial ordinance banning “camping and the storage of personal property” overnight or for one or more nights in public spaces.
The homeless, though, are exempt from enforcement unless there’s overnight sleeping availability at one of the city’s shelters and the person is provided transportation to the shelter. Those who disobey, though, could face arrest.
The ordinance came in response to the increase in those experiencing homelessness sleeping in public spaces, particularly in the city’s downtown area. In one case, city workers had to clean feces from a sidewalk outside City Hall.
Even with the exemption, the ordinance faced fierce criticism from mostly religious and nonprofit leaders who work with the city’s homeless population.
The city of Goshen passed a similar ordinance in 2023, with the same exemption in place.
Both cities said they didn’t see the new law as an end-all-be-all but rather a tool and authority for law enforcement to act if necessary.
Terre Haute has declined to pass such an ordinance. The city’s mayor, Democrat Brandon Sakbun, said in July the city has “no intention of pursuing legislation that criminalizes” those homeless sleeping on public property.
In the city of Anderson, the City Council formed the Anderson Homeless Task Force, a nonprofit with the goal of addressing the city’s homelessness issue through myriad ways, including planning programs and fundraisers to benefit homeless people; applying for grants; conducting an annual needs assessment; tracking best practices in other communities and raising public awareness.
No matter what community, though, housing continues to be the number one issue.
In Howard County, there exists Jackson Street Commons, permanent and supportive housing for area homeless veterans, and Sargent Place, a 35-unit housing facility for homeless families where the head or co-head of the household suffers from drug addiction or co-occurring mental illness.
Most recently, the Kokomo Rescue Mission broke ground on its new Engagement Center, which will increase the organization’s current bed occupancy from 65 to 130 in large part because the Mission often had to turn people away because it was at capacity.
Still, more is needed, officials say.
Angie Ciski is executive director of Family Service Association of Howard County and co-chair of the Region 5 Planning Council on Homelessness.
Ciski has been a key part of the area’s efforts to address homelessness.
Region 5 goes by the housing first model, which prioritizes permanent housing as the primary solution to end homelessness.
That’s not because Region 5 believes housing is the only need — the council wholeheartedly believes housing plus services is key to addressing the homelessness issue — but that research has shown those without a stable roof above their head tend to neglect their other needs.
Once those experiencing homelessness in the community are identified, whether unsettled or sheltered, their needs are assessed and then placed on the Region 4’s housing prioritization list.
Ciski said, though, there often isn’t enough housing to meet the need.
“There’s a real lack of low-income and affordable housing,” Ciski said.