6/1/2005
Media Contact:
Alisha Valentine, [317] 630-0853 x 208
Karina Straub, [317] 327-4422 |
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Housing First focus of Blueprint to End Homelessness update
Mayor Peterson to announce dedicated funding for homelessness prevention
INDIANAPOLIS - Mayor Bart Peterson will be joined by Dr. Sam Tsemberis of Pathways to Housing in New York City at the Coalition for Homelessness Intervention and Prevention annual meeting to discuss Housing First as an element of the Blueprint to End Homelessness. The meeting serves as an update on the 10-year plan, now in its third year of implementation.
WHEN: Tomorrow, Thursday, June 2
9:30 a.m.
WHERE: Barnes & Thornburg
11 S. Meridian St., 5th Floor Auditorium
Peterson will also be making an announcement of financial support from the city for homeless prevention efforts. CHIP estimates that though there are 9,000 to 13,000 individuals who experience homelessness throughout the year, an additional 44,000, including families and children, live on the edge of homelessness. The funds being made available will focus on those most vulnerable families.
The Blueprint to End Homelessness addresses ending and preventing homelessness in Indianapolis, and Housing First is an effective tool in getting the chronically homeless off the street and helping them attain stability. Housing First is an approach that emphasizes placing homeless people in affordable housing as quickly as possible, rather than having them live for long periods in emergency shelters or other temporary housing.
Indianapolis has a handful of projects following the Housing First model, including the Threshold Project. Threshold is an initiative of the City of Indianapolis and the Indianapolis Private Industry Council and provides chronically homeless housing and support services, with a focus on employment. A resident of Threshold will share his story of success with the project at the annual meeting.
Tsemberis is recognized as a national expert on Housing First through his work at New York University Medical Center and as the founder of Pathways to Housing. Pathways to Housing provides immediate access to housing and support services to people who are both homeless and diagnosed with severe mental illness.
The Coalition for Homelessness Intervention and Prevention is a nonprofit agency created in 1996 to advocate for homeless and near-homeless people in Indianapolis and to help organizations that serve them work together more effectively. CHIP led the Blueprint to End Homelessness planning effort and now serves as the lead agency to mobilize the community to work together to implement its recommendations.
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