The Damien Center is one of 15 local organizations that will benefit from a $11.9 million federal grant awarded to the city of Indianapolis to help people experiencing homelessness.
The funding comes as the nonprofit organization — which offers health, counseling and other support services for LGBTQ+ people, and people living with HIV/AIDS — grows its support services and expands its footprint along East Washington Street in the Holy Cross neighborhood.
A new three-story headquarters adjacent to the center’s current building at 26 N. Arsenal Ave. will include a larger health clinic, dental services, a self-serve food pantry and a pharmacy. Construction on the 56,000-square-foot facility is expected to finish at the end of the year.
The center also will use the federal funds for new projects aimed at supporting survivors of domestic violence, dating violence and stalking, CEO Alan Witchey said during a news conference on Tuesday, March 12.
“This program will undoubtedly make a significant impact on the lives of those affected,” Witchey said, “offering them the opportunity to rebuild their lives in a safe and supportive environment.”
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The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s annual Continuum of Care Program funds efforts to expand housing options and end homelessness in cities across the country. The Indianapolis-based projects will support more than 2,800 people each year through diversion efforts, rapid rehousing and permanent supportive housing, said Chelsea Haring-Cozzi, executive director of the Coalition for Homelessness Intervention and Prevention.
“This funding from HUD signifies the impact of our collective efforts, the collaboration of the entire Indianapolis Continuum of Care and partner organizations and the continued commitment to our shared vision that everyone has the right to be housed and connected to care,” Haring-Cozzi said.
Horizon House, which provides permanent supportive housing, gained support for three projects that will allow the agency to continue providing housing to 45 residents — and to add another 12 units of permanent supportive housing, Executive Director Teresa Wessel said.
Partners in Housing, which offers affordable and permanent supportive housing, will provide rental assistance to 22 youth who are experiencing chronic homelessness and 12 people who are fleeing domestic violence, Executive Director Jennifer Green said.
The $11.9 million award is a 20% increase over last year’s $9.9 million grant, which Mayor Joe Hogsett said is a testament to the community’s efforts to reduce homelessness in recent years.
“In fact, one of the primary reasons we were selected for this enhanced federal support was the decrease in overall homelessness recorded in Indianapolis for 2023,” Hogsett said. “Other factors in our favor (were) a reduction in first-time homelessness, our focus on equity, our focus on lowering the barriers to access and much more. Put simply, our partnership here in Indianapolis is working.”
The city’s homeless population was 1,619 last year, an 8% decrease over the previous year, according to the Coalition for Homelessness Intervention and Prevention, which conducts the city’s annual census of the homeless population. The number of homeless people has remained mostly unchanged since 2013, though, when the census tallied 1,599 people.
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In 2018, Hogsett and a group of advocates announced an ambitious plan to effectively end homelessness by the end of 2023, but Indianapolis fell short of that goal.
The city plans to announce new housing projects in the coming weeks and months, Hogsett said.
Meanwhile, city officials plan to open a low-barrier homeless shelter with wraparound services and a short-term leasing program in 2026. The shelter will operate as part of a housing hub that will make resources available, such as health care and counseling services.
In November, the city purchased land east of downtown to build the complex, which will sit near the 1000 block of East Georgia Street just east of Interstate 70 in Fountain Square.
Peter Blanchard covers local government. Reach him at 317-605-4836 or peter.blanchard@mirrorindy.org. Follow him on X @peterlblanchard.
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