“Our HealthNet” starts with the staff that come in every day prepared to assist our clients with getting their needs met and helping them to become self- sufficient. Debra Marshall comes in daily before our doors even open to make a fresh hot pot of coffee and to put the sign- up sheet out for the clients. She then unlocks the door and welcomes in our clients who come to the Homeless Initative Program (H.I.P.) for a variety of reasons. Other staff members; from Mandy, one of our MA’s that administers shots with caring hands to our smallest clients that are in shelters; to David, our resident professor who’s a part of the employment team; to Stacey, who sees hundreds of new faces in triage; to Donnie, who gains the trust of clients living on the street and in camps; to Gary, who says thank you to our men and women veterans by assisting them through our per diem program; to Jennifer, who has clients bringing in envelopes full of receipts to make sure their staying on budget in case management; to Trina, who makes sure all of the clients medical files are in order; to Sharon, the director of the agency who on a daily basis stays late completing grant reports and crunching numbers to make sure that HIP will be able to open our doors again  tomorrow.

Our HIP team during last year’s National Health Center Week!

“Our HealthNet” continues with the clients that walk through our doors on an everyday basis requesting assistance. HIP has long been a place where clients know they can come in and be treated with dignity and respect no matter whether they live in a shelter, where their door might be to a room that’s shared with three other people, or their own place, where their door might have an eviction notice taped on it, or in a camp, where their door might be made from a recycled card board box. Our doors have seen many faces, happy faces, sad faces, distraught faces, discouraged faces and content faces. Our job is to make sure that no matter what door they are coming from, when they walk through our doors we give them 100% of our time, our talent and our ability to make sure that they will one day walk through their own doors.

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Editor’s note: This month’s theme is “Our HealthNet”!  Our bloggers have taken on this topic and are talking about how it takes a community for us to provide quality health care and support services.  Click here to find out more about our topic this month.

What better way to celebrate than lunch at the Indianapolis City Market?

How about lunch with the organizations in Indianapolis that serve the city’s homeless population?

Homeless organizations have long used the word-of-mouth tool to spread awareness for their services and needs, but today, word-of-mouth is amplified thanks to the improvement and high use of social media and the internet.  There is no doubt that homeless organizations will continue to rely on this low-cost and convenient tool to continue to spread the word about their mission and services, but one obstacle that is often faced is getting others to recognize which organizations are using social media and exactly why they are using it.

Our Homeless Initiative Program, Horizon House, The Salvation Army, Dayspring Center, Back on My Feet Indy, Schools on Wheels and others will be “tweeting” up at the City Market tomorrow during the lunch hour.

You will be able put some faces behind Twitter accounts, learn why and how homeless organizations are using social media, or use the event as a reason to get some good grub at the City Market!

Look for the big sign that says-

Indy Homeless Organizations SM Tweetup

or follow the event hashtag – #IndyHomeless – to find out exactly where we are sitting in the City Market.

See you tomorrow!  And please share the event by clicking here –

I am a Certified Medical Assistant, and I work for the
Homeless Initiative Program.

I get to travel daily into Marion County’s homeless shelters and streets providing individuals and families with the healthcare that they need. It is such an awesome feeling to help someone get their medicines that they desperately need and don’t have or to give a child their immunizations that may have been behind schedule or to help someone who is sick and has no insurance.

There have been times when mothers have been in domestic violence situations and had to leave in an emergency and had to leave their or their child’s medicine behind, so we were able to help them during situations like that.

I have been a part of patient’s being able to get employment from our services or receive much needed therapy. There are many jobs that require a physical with a Tuberculosis test, and we are also able to also help in that situation.

28% of individuals counted, or 444 people, were members of families, including 248 children under the age of 18. These individuals represented 155 families.
[from the CHIP 2011 Homeless Count]

Something very special to me is that I have seen children grow, not only physically, but also mentally in the time that I have gotten to know them. They have even called me “Aunt Mandy”! That is a great feeling!

We can offer people certain resources that they may have never known before to help them become self-sufficient. I have lived my whole life in Indianapolis, and I never knew about the programs or resources available for those in need. I have learned how to get from place to place and learned the different areas of the city when before I barely left my side of town. My knowledge has grown so much since I have became a part of HIP, and I am proud to tell people that I work for such a great organization.

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Today is Wednesday of National Hunger + Homelessness Week!  You can get more information about HIP on our website, chat with others on our Facebook page, and ask questions by tweeting at @GiveACareIndy.

“Words cannot express how grateful I am for these programs. I have my own place and a job. I can pay my rent. I have a bank account and a vehicle. I feel like my life is back together again. I owe it all to HIP and the HCP (Hospitality Certification Program). If it hadn’t been for their help, I don’t know where I’d be right now!” –Tonya Buie, HIP case management client and HCP participant.

Since 1988 HealthNet’s Homeless Initiative Program (HIP) has opened doors for thousands of Indianapolis’ homeless, helping them find employment and permanent housing. There are thousands of Hoosiers who without the assistance and guidance of HIP would still be homeless and possibly hopeless. HIP not only assists individuals and families with getting housed, we provide them with hope and the tools necessary for them to remain housed.

What we provide for our clients is all in our name. Merriam-Webster’s definition of initiative is “of or relating to initiation.” If you look further into the word initiation you find thatit means “the act of starting something: the beginning of something.” When our clients step through our doors, they are in fact looking to “start or begin” their life again.

I started at HIP over five years ago and have been able to see the agency grow through the renewing of grants, the continued support from HealthNet, awarding of new grants and more recently, funding for housing programs. When I am out in the community on behalf of HIP, it pleases me that I am able to not only say we help homeless individuals get off the street by providing resources and advocacy; but also that we provide case management services to both individuals and families so that they have continued support through their journey of obtaining a home of their own.

HIP has always been and remains a cornerstone
for the Indianapolis community’s homeless.

When a client first walks in our doors they are greeted with a warm reception, dignity and respect. Clients come in for a range of services from assistance with everyday needs, medical help, employment, resources and referrals to assistance with finding permanent housing. Some of the everyday needs might consist of items such as soap, tooth paste, deodorant, lotion, a comb or brush, and anything else that those of us who are housed take for granted. We also have a clothing pantry where they can come in for socks, underwear, shirts, pants or even a coat for the winter. It’s a wonderful sight to see someone who has nothing come in and get a clean pair of pants, a shirt, socks and maybe even shoes and leave with a huge smile on their face knowing that they are truly grateful. Some even change in our bathroom before they leave! These services are all taken care of by our triage team who see clients on a first come first served basis.

If clients are looking for assistance with “starting or beginning” their life again, triage will sign them up for case management.

HIP has four caring, empathetic, socially conscious and educated case managers. Our case managers are the “advisors,” “counselors” and “supporters” for clients that come to HIP looking to start their lives over.

“Case managers are like a life coach getting clients to where they want to be.” – Kay Wiles, manager, Triage/Outreach and Case Management.

Once the relationship is started it becomes like a partnership in getting the client housed. Case managers have been there for clients in times of crisis as well as times of celebration. All four of us have at one point helped a client or family move into their new place, sometimes going as far as shopping with them for “the perfect matching comforter set”! It’s a joy for us to see them move into their place and know that we were instrumental in helping them start their lives again with new hope.

Case managers assist clients with referrals for employment, signing up for eligible benefits, childcare needs, and education, housing and mainstream resources. Once the client has established housing whether that’s transitional, treatment facility or permanent housing they continue to work with the clients for six months after they are housed. This allows the client the continued one on one support they need to maintain the life they have “started again.”

“HIP case managers help clients lay the foundation they need to improve their physical, mental, social, and economic well-being”

Today is Monday of National Hunger + Homelessness Week!  You can get more information about HIP on our website, chat with others on our Facebook page, and ask questions by tweeting at @GiveACareIndy.