HealthNet’s Homeless Initiative Program (HIP) has been serving the homeless population in Marion County since 1988 with Health Care, Street Outreach, Walk-In Triage services, Intensive Case Management, Employment & Training as well as Housing services.  All of our services are available to homeless Veterans, as well as to anyone experiencing homelessness.  In 2013, the Homeless Initiative Program served:

• 2868 clients
• 1193 persons in 361 families with 756 children
• 1668 (60%) single men and (40%) women
• 466  or 16% Veterans
• 438 individuals experiencing Domestic Violence
• 1323 (46% of those served) individuals with a diagnosed disability including substance abuse, mental health diagnosis

HIP is located at 1835 N. Meridian St.in the middle of downtown Indianapolis and is accessible via public transportation.  No appointments are necessary and individuals can come in to seek assistance with challenges that they have as they either work to prevent becoming homeless or redirect themselves from this experience.

Our hours are as follows:

Monday/Tuesday/Thursday: 8am to 4:30pm
Wednesday: 1pm to 4:30pm
Friday: 8am to 11:30am

Employment Assessments: Monday @ 9am OR Thursday @ 1pm

For more information about HealthNet’s Homeless Initiative Program and how you can help, please call 317-957-2275 or visit www.indyhealthnet.org. 

The first half of the year really has been a load of content that mixed some patient and staff stories along with our thoughts on current events that have occurred locally, state-wide, and even nationally. 

However, I think it is time to properly introduce ourselves, and that will happen in this four-day blog series ‘4 Days until July 4^th weekend’. 

This series will give you the gist of HealthNet, Inc.’s outreach programs that really bring wrap-around services to our network of health centers.

Now without further adieu,
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Part One: Homeless Initiative Program….

Since 1988, our Homeless Initiative Program (that hopefully you will grow to know as ‘HIP’) has helped thousands of Indianapolis’ homeless by providing a network of services to treat the whole person, as he or she moves from homelessness into employment, housing, and self-sufficiency. 

HIP’s mission is to assist homeless persons in reaching a level of self-sufficiency consistent with their goals and capabilities for physical, mental, social and economic well-being.

And to stick with the number 4, here are four things you need to know about HIP:

1. HIP serves nearly 3,300 homeless individuals per year.Through a wide array of services that include employment and training, case management, triage/outreach, health care services, and a homeless veterans reintegration program, HIP gives a care about the specific needs of the individual on a case-by-case basis.
2. HIP is one of the largest, most comprehensive homeless programs in the state.HIP staff work closely with other providers around the city to continuously stay up-to-date on all community resources available for homeless individuals.  HIP builds partnerships that work because ending homelessness is a team effort.

    

3. Persistent staff work tirelessly on a case-by-case basis.I can’t put the right amount of emphasis on this in two sentences. So, here are two links to previous blogs:
   - Jeff Smith, a homeless veteran who became an alcoholic and was convicted of forgery, received a second chance because of the persistent effort of his biggest advocates — the HIP staff
   - Ricky Wallace, a homeless veteran who wanted to help his ailing parents, moved to Indy thinking he could crash with a friend. But his plans fell through.  HIP helped Ricky find emergency housing and now he is living his dream as a chef.
4. There are plenty of ways to get involved.Here are just a few examples of how you can help prevent and end homelessness without a monetary donation.  However, donations are accepted and much appreciated because of the continual struggle to find funding for homeless services each year!  Also, time is money. Call here to learn about volunteer opportunities with HIP.

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Want to learn more about HIP?
Are there specific questions that you have about homelessness in Indy?
Comment below!
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Homelessness can happen to anyone because of tragedy, fighting with addiction, or many other reasons.  One of the most disheartening reasons is what often makes most children and teenagers homeless.

“First, his parents, whose marriage had imploded, disappeared. A few days later, Brewer came home from school to an eviction notice posted on the front door.”

This quote, taken from an article in the Washington Post, shows just one case; however, for many homeless youth, the reason they are forced to their street is not their choice, but one made by the people they trusted.  According to a report done by First Focus, federal data shows that the number of homeless children and youth identified in public schools has increased for the second year in a row, and by 41% over the past two school years.

Homeless students enrolled in Indiana schools has risen by 26% in these past two school years!

These reports are only able to capture the number of youth who are ENROLLED in school.  Assistance for students is hard to find because like the story from the Washington Post, many students enrolled in school are couch surfing with friends and family.  Youth who do this do not qualify as homeless under the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s definition.

There are a few resources that do help Indianapolis’ homeless youth, namely HealthNet’s Homeless Initiative Program, Outreach, Inc., and Schools on Wheels.  Do you know of any more resources for homeless youth?

In Indiana, a child is abused or neglected every 25 minutes, and most of the time, abuse and neglect can be prevented.  HealthNet’s Better Indy Babies program uses an originally designed outreach model that consists of teams of health care workers which include social workers, registered nurses and community health workers.  These teams are charged with finding pregnant women, determining if the woman is enrolled in prenatal care, and if not, getting them into prenatal care.  The teams are also responsible for providing prenatal health education, support services and linkage to community resources.  This innovative approach is different than public health nursing.  Packaging a select group of interdisciplinary health workers, including community residents, into a team is now a model used in many organizations throughout the nation.

Better Indy Babies (BIBs) works closely with Healthy Families, a program that is part of Prevent Child Abuse America, in order to support at-risk families and provide them with more than education but a resource to lean on.  Poverty, lack of child-rearing education or experience, lack of formal education, and single-parenthood are all risk factors of both infant mortality and child abuse or neglect.

Become an advocate for programs that serve families who just need the comfort knowing that there is support.  Sometimes all it takes is knowing that there is someone there if you need them.  Maybe you can give a child in Indiana a few extra minutes by learning more about BIBs or Healthy Families, spreading awareness of organizations within your community, or donating here.