Number of people who died while experiencing homelessness in Indianapolis the highest in recent years

More people died experiencing homelessness in Indianapolis in 2022 than in recent years. An annual ceremony remembered 197 individuals. That number is greater than in 2021, when 167 people were honored, and 2020, when 87 were honored.

Homelessness presents many factors that can lead to death – including violence, severe weather, addiction, and chronic health conditions. The Coalition for Homelessness Intervention and Prevention (CHIP) held its first annual memorial service to honor the dead in 1996. More than 1,300 people have died in Indianapolis while experiencing homelessness since then.

And the number of people living homeless in Indianapolis has been increasing since the pandemic. The 2022 point-in-time count found a total of 1,761 people without a home. That was a drop from 2021, 1,928. But that drop was not hailed as a victory, and the 2022 number was still higher than pre-COVID numbers. 

CHIP Executive Director Chelsea Haring-Cozzi said the count again found more Black people experiencing homelessness.

“And racial disproportionality becomes even more significant when we look at families,” Haring-Cozzi said.

This year saw a 27 percent increase in the number of children without a home.

It did also see a significant decrease — 35 percent — in veterans experiencing homelessness. Targeted housing first strategies and added local and federal funding are credited for that decrease.

The 2023 annual Point in Time count will be held this January. 

Contact WFYI city government and policy reporter Jill Sheridan at jsheridan@wfyi.org. Follow on Twitter: @JillASheridan.