A year-long effort to house more than 300 people experiencing unsheltered homelessness in Indianapolis has reached about two-thirds of its goal.
More than 200 people have been housed as the Streets to Home Indy program nears the end of its first year, according to the Coalition for Homelessness Intervention and Prevention, a nonprofit coordinating the city-backed effort. The rapid rehousing initiative, which launched in July 2025, has now closed seven camps across Indy and three downtown “zones” where people camped.
The progress comes as the statewide ban on homeless camping, which took effect July 1, is pushing local governments to get people off the streets. Under the new law, people found living outdoors must relocate within 48 hours of a police warning, and violators could face fines or even jail time.
“Through Streets to Home Indy, Indianapolis is proving that communities do not have to choose between supporting our most vulnerable neighbors and creating safe, welcoming public spaces for all,” Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett said in a July 15 CHIP press release.
Streets to Home Indy remains short of goal
Streets to Home Indy aimed to effectively end unsheltered homelessness — which includes people sleeping in tents, vehicles and abandoned buildings — within one year. In each of the past two years, about 330 people have been counted as unsheltered, about 20% of the city’s total homeless population.
Members of the $8.1 million initiative are still pushing to house 300 unsheltered individuals, CHIP CEO Chelsea Haring-Cozzi told IndyStar in a statement. The 200-plus figure includes data as of July 6 and is expected to increase throughout this month.
Asked about falling short of the 300-person goal so far, Haring-Cozzi said the process of closing larger, well-established camps proved especially complex.
“Some residents require accessible units, which are especially difficult to secure,” Haring-Cozzi said, “while others need more intensive clinical, health care or behavioral-health support before and after moving into housing.”
She said program leaders have also taken more time to train partners and refine their approach while closing camps, a process that was initially projected to take 4-6 weeks.
“Teams continue to make placements every week as we work toward the full Phase 1 goal, with a focus on making those housing placements appropriate, sustainable and supported for the long term,” she said.
Leaders have not shared specific sites of camp closures in order to protect residents, except for when the Leonard Street encampment gained attention in Fountain Square. Service providers, city employees and police officers work together to shut down homeless camps, house all of the inhabitants and prevent future camping at each site.
The rehousing effort is the first phase of a multi-year initiative to end unsheltered and chronic homelessness in Indianapolis by 2028. While these two populations overlap heavily, chronic homelessness includes people with a disabling condition who have been consistently unhoused, even if they’re living in temporary shelter.
In the coming years, efforts will shift to help people experiencing long-term homelessness move out of shelters and into stable housing.
The first year of Streets to Home Indy was funded in three equal portions by the city of Indianapolis, the nonprofit Indianapolis Foundation, and a pool of philanthropic, faith-based and individual donors. Future phases will also include a blend of public and private dollars.
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Email Indianapolis City Hall Reporter Jordan Smith at JTSmith@indystar.com. Follow him on X @jordantsmith09 and Bluesky @jordanaccidentally.bsky.social.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Indy program has housed 200 people as homeless camping ban begins
Reporting by Jordan Smith, Indianapolis Star / Indianapolis Star
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Jordan Smith, Indianapolis Star | USA TODAY Network
