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Indianapolis will invest more than $7 million in federal funding toward rapid rehousing efforts. The federal CARES Act money will go towards strategies to provide people currently experiencing homelessness with stable housing.
"More Indianapolis residents will have a place they can call home," Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett said.
The city will partner with the Coalition for Homelessness Intervention and Prevention, or CHIP, and expects to reach hundreds. Executive Director of CHIP, Chelsea Haring-Cozzi, said rapid rehousing is a proven, long-term solution that works.
"In a way that prioritizes resources for the most vulnerable because we know that homelessness is incompatible with health," Haring-Cozzi said.
The effort will pay rent for up to a year and connect people with other services for stability, including employment and substance abuse treatment.
Haring-Cozi said they will focus on the disparities faced by Black people who are experiencing homeless.
"It is critical that these strategies are driven by a commitment to racial equity and addressing racial disparities across our systems," Haring-Cozi said.
The initiative will work with people in temporary non-congregate hotel housing, those in shelters and those on the streets.
Merchants Affordable Housing Corp. will also work with the city on the effort
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