New supportive housing units open on the near north side

More than 50 new apartments are open to people in need of supportive housing in Indianapolis as part of the city’s Housing to Recovery program.

City officials unveiled the project Wednesday on the near north side.

The St. George Apartments offer interim units to people and provide wrap-around services. The complex used about $4 million in funding from IU Health, the city’s opioid settlement and Housing to Recovery money from Horizon House to open and operate.

The Housing to Recovery fund is a partnership that marks five years in Indianapolis. Started with an initial $4 million investment, it aimed to develop hundreds of supportive housing units for people experiencing homelessness.

The fund is led by CICF’s Indianapolis Foundation and has helped nearly 400 people at risk of or experiencing homelessness. The goal is for people to achieve permanent supportive housing that works to improve housing by finding a unit, subsiding rent and providing support services to stay housed.

Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett said the program fund has proven successful.

“Thanks to the services made available through this fund, participants have attained a near-universal level of housing stability along with dramatic improvements to health and wellness outcomes,” Hogsett said.

In Indianapolis, 97 percent of participants have achieved housing stability, being housed for more than a year. It has also achieved success in reduction in jail and ER visits. A majority of participants have health coverage.

The fund also launched a new campaign with a $10.5 million investment goal. It kicked off with a $500,000 gift from the Richard M. Fairbanks Foundation.

In a release Claire Fiddian-Green, president & CEO of the Fairbanks Foundation, said that “Reducing homelessness in Indianapolis will also require addressing addiction and poor mental health, diseases that are often contributing factors to homelessness.”

-CLARIFICATION: A previous version of this story described the new units as permanent supportive housing.  It has been changed to supportive housing.