Vision:
Unite with a coordinated effort, utilize the passion of the community and channel it into action to have a positive impact on families of Johnson County who have no place to call home.
Mission:
A coordinated partnership to end homelessness in Johnson County.
Background
Beginning in late 2013, United Way of Johnson County started a systematic review of issues relating to housing and homelessness and then undertook the planning process to begin addressing the issues that were identified.
Upon the completion of the No Place to Call Home Needs Assessment—Phase 1, in late 2014, a Steering Committee was formed, and Phase 2 was started to develop a business plan for the Best First Step to address homelessness in a comprehensive fashion in the community- No Place to Call Home Coordination.
Coordinated Entry is the key to address Johnson County's Homeless issue
How No Place to Call Home works
Johnson County's residents who are homeless or at risk of being homelss need to call Helpline at 317-738-4636. The Helpline Director will talk with the client and discuss their housing situtation. The Helpline Director will evaluate whether the client has the desire to work towards housing stablitly by pariticpating in 3 - 6 months of case management. In addition, the client needs to have an income source or the ability to obtain an income source. The number of clients that can be accepted into the program is limited due to the finanical and case management restraints of the program. Upon acceptance into the program, the client will meet with No Place to Call Home program director to evaluate which case management agency is appropriate to help the client work towards housing stablity. The No Place to Call Home program director will also discuss the options and resources available to the client to address his/her immediate housing needs.
The following graphic to describes how No Place to Call Home operates:
No Place to Call Home in operation
Since the program launched in October 2016, the following are our achievements: (stats are from October 2016 to September 2017)
- 153 households have been referred to the program.
- 46 households have been served with finanical assistance and case management. Make up of these households included 146 adults and children.
- 8 households have completed the program which includes being active in case managment for at least 3 months, achieving 80 percent of their goals; being stably housed and having a stable income.
Looking into the future
Data on homelessness in Johnson County
- The federal McKinney-Vento Homeless Eduction Assistance Act requires schools to count homeless students and ensure they have access to a public education. The act defines homeless students as those who lack a fixed, regular and adequate nightime residence. They could be temporarily doubling-up with a relative or another family.
Number of Homeless students reported by the six- Johnson County Schools
- According to the 2015 US Census American Housing Survey, 5315 or 10 percent of households in Johnson County paid more than 50 percent of their income on housing in 2015. In order for housing to be considered affordable by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), households should spend no more than 30 percent of household income on housing.
- No Place to Call Home program has found typical move-in costs in Johnson County can be $2,100 or more including first month's rent, security deposit, utility deposits and often last month's rent. According to 2016 ALICE (Asset, Limited, Income Constrained, Employed) report of bare minimum Household Survival Budget, 32 percent of Johnson County households can't afford to save towards this amount.
- According to the Self Sufficiency Standard for Indiana, a Johnson County family with two-working adults and two children, each adult would have to earn $14.97 an hour in order to sustain without the need for public or private assistance.
- Primary root cause of homelessness for those households referred into No Place to Call Home are:
Eviction/Foreclosure
Divorce/Separation
Physical Health
Loss of Job
Domestic Violence
Mental Health
Substance Abuse
Family Dynamic Change
Chronic Unemployment
Child Support Issues
No Place to Call Home: Phase 1: Johnson County Homeless Needs Assessment