According to information provided at a community coffee talk discussing the issue last month at Blackbird Cafe in Valparaiso, homelessness in Porter County can affect more than 400 men, women and children on any given night.
But steps to remedy the issue have been in place for some time now thanks to several area non-profit organizations, many of which were involved at the Blackbird discussion.
The Porter County Coalition for Affordable Housing includes 60 or so non-profits, funders and government agencies that serve the homeless or potentially homeless. They have what Elizabeth Allen says is a “ten-year plan to end homelessness.”
“The plan addresses five elements of improving housing stability: affordable housing, economic security, health and stability, homelessness prevention and retooling the homeless system,” Allen said.
Among the members of the CAH are Housing Opportunities, United Way, Habitat for Humanity, The Caring Place, Work One and numerous others.
Housing Opportunities is a 501(c)3 that has been providing services for 13 years to families and individuals to help gain and maintain affordable housing.
Services include temporary, transitional, and permanent-supportive housing for the homeless that will help empower families and individuals by providing housing solutions via access to housing options that are safe, decent and affordable while also providing customized client support services that foster self-reliance.
“We also aid in filling the need for affordable housing in our community by providing low income rentals,” said spokesperson Caren Furdeck. “In addition, we help prevent homelessness by providing foreclosure prevention services – helping stop foreclosure and keeping families in their home. Many people do not realize we also offer education such as Pre and Post Purchase Education and Counseling, and HECM/Reverse Mortgage Counseling.
“For families who are currently living in our housing programs we go a step further and provide a food pantry to address the food insufficiency gap our clients face,” Furdeck added.
New Creation Men's Shelter and Dayspring Women’s Center are a pair of local facilities offering assistance.
“I don’t know if we will ever be able to solve the problem of homelessness, but by working together we can put a huge dent in it,” said Jim Drader, executive director of New Creation.
A year-round shelter, New Creation was formed in 2007 after discussion at a business meeting revealed that while there were a few programs in place for women and children, there were not many options for a homeless single man.
For women who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless, Dayspring Women’s Center is available weekdays from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. for women to find refuge, meals, shower and laundry facilities and welcoming faces.
“Our goal is to provide a safe haven for women on their journey toward stability through providing basic necessities,” said Aly Kasper, program manager at the center.
After performing a test shelter at seven different area churches where men could stay at a different one every night of the week, Drader said it became evident that the men needed more than a place to stay. They needed phone service and access to a computer to be able to look for work.
“So we decided to open up a larger building that had a community room and restrooms so they can have substantial help in getting back on their feet,” he said.
The shelter is now staffed with five full-time employees and receives help from volunteers and through an internship program with Ivy Tech Community College.
In July, Housing Opportunities will be holding an invitation-only event at Don Quijote Restaurante and Imports in Valparaiso to celebrate four recent high school graduates that went through the organization’s homeless program.
“We have a couple that are first-generation high school graduates,” Furdeck said. “To go from being homeless to arriving in our housing program - finding stability - working through high school and now going on to college is just amazing.”