The City of Indianapolis has received an additional $20 million to build a new low-barrier homeless shelter on the southeast side of Indianapolis.
The Indiana Housing and Community Development Authority approved a grant on Oct. 24 that would add an additional $20 million to the existing $12 million budget of the new Housing Hub, the first homeless shelter in the city to be funded entirely by tax dollars. According to the IHCDA, construction will begin in a few months and completed by 2026, with the hub opening in 2027. The IHCDA also stated that the building will sit off the 1000 block of East Georgia Street and will be open 24/7.
The proposed plans are for a 63,000-square-foot building with four levels. The first floor will be operated by the Horizon House, a local organization that works to secure permanent housing for the chronically homeless. It will also host a food pantry and cafeteria. The second floor will host the administrative offices and the housing navigation center, along with some government offices, like the BMV and the Marion County Public Health Department. The third and fourth floors will be the shelter run by Aspire Indiana Health, which is an independent nonprofit healthcare provider that addresses physical and mental disorders, substance abuse, HIV services and other healthcare needs.
The low-barrier shelter will have 150 beds in total consisting of family, couple and single pods. This is less than the original 250 beds proposed, but resources are instead being moved to provide permanent supportive housing with the city of Indianapolis investing 500,000 dollars into a “master leasing” program. This program aims to pay the rent of privately owned housing for those who would otherwise live in shelters or the street and will pay for 30 apartment units.
The development of the Housing Hub has been a multi-year process, with the state of Indiana assembling a task force that recommended the project in 2022. The land was purchased in 2023, along with approval of a grant for low-barrier housing in Indiana’s biennial budget. This comes as the recent 2024 census found that around 1,700 people experience homelessness, with 20% not having access to emergency shelters. This is a 5% increase from 2023’s census, according to the Coalition for Homelessness Intervention and Prevention.
