Housing First, is it working in Indianapolis?

This is a bit of a departure from GIMA’s normal focus, but not really. Homelessness is the result of evictions and lack of affordable housing. Indianapolis says it’s a Housing First city. Is it?

Housing First is “… a homeless assistance approach that prioritizes providing permanent housing to people experiencing homelessness, thus ending their homelessness and serving as a platform from which they can pursue personal goals and improve their quality of life… Housing First does not require people experiencing homelessness to address the all of their problems including behavioral health problems, or to graduate through a series of services programs before they can access housing. Housing First does not mandate participation in services either before obtaining housing or in order to retain housing. The Housing First approach views housing as the foundation for life improvement and enables access to permanent housing without prerequisites or conditions beyond those of a typical renter.”

This video from A Bigger Vision Films is from the 2022 Housing First conference and is powerful. It gives some insight into the success and challenges of the Housing First model. Most poignant to me is the statement that “local governments have to be leaders in this space.” What can we do to empower and embolden our city and state leaders to make this work in Indianapolis?