Two organizations that help pay rent for people experiencing homelessness in Indianapolis have been approved for long-term funding.
The Coalition for Homelessness Intervention and Prevention will get about $3.8 million in city money through 2028 for rent assistance.
And the Damien Center will get about $2.3 million through 2030.
Both groups were already receiving some city funding for rent assistance. The Metropolitan Development Commission approved additional spending Nov. 5. This extra funding will help the organizations house people more quickly.
Damien Center CEO Alan Witchey said the funding is important because rent assistance from an outside organization can make it more likely that a landlord accepts someone coming out of homelessness.
“This group of people are pretty much the most difficult to get housing for,” Witchey told Mirror Indy.
The funding will support an initiative to end long-term and unsheltered homelessness, as well as a program working directly with landlords to cover rent.
Streets to Home Indy
The Coalition for Homeless Intervention and Prevention, or CHIP, leads Streets to Home Indy. The goal of the program is to end long-term and unsheltered homelessness by 2028.
Streets to Home launched this summer and relies on private and local government funding.
Mayor Joe Hogsett committed about $10 million to the program as part of his 2026 budget. Faith groups and nonprofits have also stepped up to support the initiative.
How Streets to Home works
Streets to Home is starting by housing people who are in homeless encampments. Outreach workers are going to one camp at a time. Earlier this year, the program helped house people living in a homeless encampment in Fountain Square. You don’t have to sign up to get help.
Master leasing
The Damien Center runs a master leasing program, which involves working with service providers and landlords.
The Damien Center holds a lease with the landlord and then subleases the unit to someone who needs housing.
Witchey expects the center’s additional funding to lead to about 75 master leasing units per year for the next five years. He said there are about 30 units already.
Between master leasing and Streets to Home — which the Damien Center is also part of — Witchey said service providers are able to help people experiencing homelessness much more than even a few years ago.
“There’s just more tools,” he said.
How master leasing works
The Damien Center takes master lease referrals from the city’s coordinated entry system. Here is more information about how to get on the coordinated entry list.
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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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