How Do Cities Approach Solving Homelessness?

Chelsea Haring-Cozzi, Executive Director of Coalition for Homelessness Intervention and Prevention joins us to discuss the complexity of helping those who experience homelessness. Chris Spangle asks her about encampments on the circle, who falls into homelessness, and what organizations network together to solve the issue.

“CHIP” is the homeless coalition for the City of Indianapolis. CHIP collaborates with and supports dozens of local shelters and service providers in the City to create a community response that makes homelessness rare, short-lived, and recoverable. CHIP’s support comes in a variety of ways:

·      Securing funding for housing and services

·      Conducting important research that is used by all local homeless service providers who want to make sure their programs and housing solutions are fitting the needs in the community.

·      Advocating for policy change at the local, state and national levels for policies that support solutions to homelessness

·      Providing a variety of programs and training opportunities to improve the quality and effectiveness of the homeless system of care. For example, the Street Reach program provides financial assistance to people who are experiencing homelessness by helping them overcome barriers to permanent housing like paying a security deposit to rent an apartment or paying a utility bill. Since 2017, more than 700 individuals have either moved into permanent housing or made significant steps toward doing so with the help of Street Reach.

Visit their website at www.CHIPIndy.org.

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