Lisa Enright stood before tubs of silverware at Walmart on a late September afternoon, trying to piece together a matching set of spoons, forks and knives.
The silverware wasn’t for her, though. Neither were the plates and bowls, body wash, toothpaste, scissors or anything else that filled her shopping cart.
All of it would eventually belong to someone who’s getting out of homelessness and moving into their own place.
“I want them to have something nice,” Enright said.
Enright, 62, is part of a group of northside congregations that have come together to support Streets to Home Indy, an initiative to end long-term and unsheltered homelessness. The program has housed around 30 people so far, including 18 who were living at the Leonard Street homeless encampment in Fountain Square this summer.
Streets to Home, which is led by the Coalition for Homelessness Intervention and Prevention, is getting about $10 million as part of the city’s approved 2026 budget. The program will also rely on help from the local faith community.
That’s where Enright and others are stepping in through a group called Northside Congregations for Housing. The group is working with the Greater Indianapolis Multifaith Alliance, which is organizing the faith community’s involvement. So far, GIMA has raised $47,000, with another $300,000 in pledges.
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The city’s Streets to Home project will work with people living there.
Aside from money, members of the northside congregations group decided they can support Streets to Home by assembling move-in kits.
“This is a tangible thing that people can do,” Enright said.
It’s unlikely that Enright will ever know the person she was shopping for that day. But whoever they are, Enright said, they deserve dignity.
And matching silverware.
Move-in kits have been a ‘godsend’
Northside Congregations for Housing had put together 32 move-in kits as of Oct. 9.
Group members got an update during their meeting at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church on North Meridian Street. There were people from about a dozen churches and a few other organizations.
Scott Lowe, one of the group’s founders, said the idea to put together move-in kits only came up about a month ago.
“It’s great,” said Lowe, 63. “So many people have jumped in.”
Once the kits are put together, they’re sent to RDOOR Housing Corp., an affordable housing developer that is also supporting Streets to Home.
Barb Williams, who’s part of RDOOR’s housing acquisition team, said the kits are meant to be simple. Think laundry detergent pods instead of a gallon jug that wouldn’t be practical to carry to a laundromat. Each kit comes out to around $300.
“I cannot begin to express how much I love and appreciate all of the move-in kits,” Williams, 73, said during the meeting. “It’s been a godsend.”
How you can help
If you want to learn more about Northside Congregations for Housing, you can contact Scott Lowe at jsl2206@outlook.com.
If you want to donate to Streets to Home Indy as part of a faith group, you can do that through Greater Indianapolis Multifaith Alliance’s website. You can also make donations through the Coalition for Homelessness Intervention and Prevention.
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Mirror Indy reporter Tyler Fenwick covers housing and labor. Contact him at 317-766-1406 or tyler.fenwick@mirrorindy.org. Follow him on X @ty_fenwick and Bluesky @tyfenwick.bsky.social.
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