Gabbie Thomas is looking forward to two big anniversaries in September. One year of sobriety, and one year of having a home.
After 10 years of homelessness and 15 years of living with addiction, Thomas moved into her eastside apartment in September 2025. She got the apartment through Streets to Home Indy, a year-old program that houses people experiencing homelessness by paying for 12 months of rent.
“They gave me the opportunity for shelter,” Thomas said, “and I took the opportunity to get my life back.”
The Coalition for Homelessness Intervention and Prevention is leading the program, which is funded by the city, philanthropy and donations.
Streets to Home has housed 231 people as of Aug. 24, below the goal of around 300 people in the first year. Some, like Thomas, are using this newfound stability to get addiction treatment and counseling. Thomas, 39, has picked up hobbies, such as journaling and studying her Bible.
At the same time, some residents are struggling to adjust to life with a home after years of living outside. Case managers are supposed to help with things such as getting someone a cell phone and enrolled on Medicaid. But some residents say they have gone weeks at a time without hearing from their case manager.
Mirror Indy spoke with four Streets to Home residents for this story.
Meanwhile, some homelessness advocates worry Streets to Home won’t lead to permanent housing. Mirror Indy spoke with seven people who help run the program or have been supporters.
Chelsea Haring-Cozzi, CEO of the coalition, told Mirror Indy part of the challenge is that some program residents are living in their first home for decades.
“This is about people who have been struggling in our community for a very long time,” Haring-Cozzi said. “And we haven’t addressed those basic human needs effectively.”
For some who have been housed, the program could end up being just a one-year break from homelessness.
Thomas is worried that’s what will happen to her.
‘I know what it’s like out there’
Thomas fears she won’t be able to celebrate either of her September anniversaries. Her year of rent assistance is up at the end of August.
Thomas said she’s accomplished a lot in 12 months but that one year isn’t enough time to become independent.
Some Streets to Home residents are getting extensions. That includes at least one person who lives in the same apartment complex as Thomas.
Niki Wattson, Streets to Home director, said extensions range from three to 12 months. Wattson said she didn’t know exactly how many people have been approved for an extension.
Thomas has no idea if she’ll get an extension. Her case manager has applied for one.
If she becomes homeless again, Thomas is afraid she’ll start using drugs again.
“I’ve worked so hard,” she said. “But I know what it’s like out there.”
Haring-Cozzi said the national standard for similar programs is for 85% of residents to stay housed long-term, and that Streets to Home was at 95% as of late July.
“While we would love 100%, that’s not really a realistic standard,” she said.
Haring-Cozzi said she didn’t know the exact number of people who might become homeless again.
Streets to Home started with ‘some of our most vulnerable neighbors’
Shellina Willoughby has complicated feelings about having a place to live after four years of being homeless.
For one thing, Willoughby’s near northside apartment has mold, and her unit doesn’t have an oven. Willoughby, 48, said maintenance told her there was a working oven in the basement if she could get it up to her apartment on the third floor.
“I could live on the river like this,” she said.
Which brings up another painful point for Willoughby. It was hard leaving the homeless encampment along the White River on the west side. There, Willoughby said, she came to love her “river family.”
“It was home,” she said. “That’s where I lived for four years.”
Willoughby’s experience is an example of what some people who operate and support Streets to Home say has made the first year challenging. Some residents come to the program with complex mental and emotional needs, and one year of housing with limited help may not be enough to become self-sufficient.
Thomas said she also struggled adjusting to not being homeless.
When she moved into her apartment, Thomas said she tilted her recliner against the front door and locked her bedroom door at night.
“I wasn’t used to feeling secure,” she said.
Haring-Cozzi said those challenges are one reason the program fell short of its goal to house up to 350 people its first year.
“People who are living in the streets are often some of our most vulnerable neighbors,” she said.
Rabbi Aaron Spiegel, executive director of the Greater Indianapolis Multifaith Alliance, was more blunt.
Spiegel’s organization has helped raise money for Streets to Home, which he criticized for starting with what he said is a population that is the least likely to succeed after 12 months of rent assistance.
“It’s just insane,” Spiegel said.
The future of Streets to Home
When Streets to Home houses people from a homeless encampment, signs go up letting people know the area is closed to camping.
So far, the program has been to seven encampments, along with some areas downtown. It takes an average of 27 days to house people, according to the Coalition for Homelessness Intervention and Prevention.
The next phase of Streets to Home will focus on people staying in shelters.
But Haring-Cozzi said the program won’t move to Phase 2 until after meeting the initial goal of housing more than 300 people off of the streets.
“We’ve hit a target,” she said, “but we’re not done yet.”
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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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