Indianapolis homelessness initiative reports more than 200 people housed after first year

Streets to Home Indy, a city-backed public-private initiative led by the Coalition for Homelessness Intervention & Prevention, says it has housed more than 200 people in Indianapolis during its first year.

The initiative began in mid-2025 and focuses primarily on people experiencing unsheltered homelessness. Its first phase aims to house 300 to 350 people within 12 months, according to the city’s June 1, 2026 draft Annual Action Plan.

Program reports rapid moves into housing

WFYI reported July 17 that the average time from initial engagement to housing is just under 30 days. The report also said seven encampments had been engaged and cleared through the initiative.

Streets to Home Indy pairs housing with wraparound services for up to 12 months. CHIP coordinates outreach, housing navigation, housing providers and case management for participants.

The initiative also reported that 95% of people entering the program have remained housed. That is a program-participant measure of housing stability. It is not a citywide homelessness rate and does not mean that 95% of Indianapolis residents experiencing homelessness have been housed.

First-phase fundraising goal reached

The first phase has reached its $8.1 million fundraising goal, according to WFYI. The reported funding mix includes $2.7 million from the City of Indianapolis, $2.7 million from the Housing to Recovery Fund and $2.7 million from philanthropic, faith, corporate and individual donors.

Later phases remain plans rather than completed results. The initiative’s broader goal is to address chronic and unsheltered homelessness in Indianapolis by 2028. Planned later work includes expanding assistance to people stuck in shelters and developing homelessness-diversion practices.

Milestone remains smaller than city’s overall need

The city’s June 1, 2026 draft Annual Action Plan places the program’s progress against a larger homelessness problem. The plan says Indianapolis recorded 1,815 people experiencing homelessness in its 2025 point-in-time count, including 331 people sleeping outdoors.

A point-in-time count is a one-night snapshot, not a complete annual census of everyone who experiences homelessness. The more than 200 people housed through Streets to Home Indy therefore represent progress toward the initiative’s first-phase target, not a citywide resolution of homelessness.

The city plan also sets a separate goal that at least 95% of formerly homeless individuals and families remain stably housed two years after placement. That is a longer-term system goal, not verification that Streets to Home Indy participants have already reached a two-year outcome.

For Indianapolis residents, the next measures will be whether the initiative reaches its 300-to-350-person first-phase target, maintains housing stability after placement and secures funding for work beyond the first phase.

Sources

• WFYI Public Media — Homelessness initiative finds housing for 200 people in Indianapolis
• City of Indianapolis — 2026 Annual Action Plan, June 1, 2026 draft
• CHIP Indy — Streets to Home Indy