Bloomington, Ind., September, 17, 2024 — Today, Community Solutions announced that South Central Indiana, a six-county region of 300,000 people including the city of Bloomington, became the sixth community nationwide to obtain real-time by-name data on all single adults experiencing homelessness.
“Homelessness is not intractable. Understanding who is actually experiencing homelessness lays the foundation for solving it,” said Beth Sandor, chief program officer at Community Solutions. “Leaders in South Central Indiana are now equipped with the real-time data necessary to connect people with the precise resources, support, and housing they need.”
Most cities rely on the annual Point-in-Time count, which only tallies the number of sheltered and unsheltered people once a year. Quality by-name data is a comprehensive source of information on every person experiencing homelessness, including their name, history with homelessness, and health and housing needs.
Local homeless response teams now have this critical data for all single adults experiencing homelessness, including veterans and people experiencing chronic homelessness. Unlike the annual Point-in-Time count, real-time data allows the region to evaluate whether their strategies reduce homelessness over time, effectively prioritize resources, and monitor whether homelessness reductions are happening equitably.
South Central Indiana joined Built for Zero, an initiative of more than 100 U.S. cities and counties using data to measurably and equitably end homelessness, in 2022. The largely rural region comprises Monroe, Morgan, Lawrence, Owen, Greene, and Martin counties. With Built for Zero’s support, outreach teams and case management staff collected real-time homelessness data with consent and developed a public-facing dashboard to track progress. Homeless response organizations worked together to ensure all areas were accounted for, including three rural counties without shelters or services.
A central source of quality data allowed service providers to collaborate more easily, making a significant difference in addressing homelessness in the area. Last year, the region moved 245 households into stable housing. From January through August of this year, the community secured stable housing for 211 households.
Next, the South Central Indiana team will focus on reaching functional zero for veteran homelessness — when the community can house the number of veterans routinely entering homelessness within one month.
“We knew that we needed all hands on deck to pull together comprehensive data on our neighbors experiencing homelessness,” said Mary Morgan, director of Heading Home of South Central Indiana. “That coordinated effort made all the difference. Now, we can take a solutions-oriented approach to solving homelessness in our region.”
Organizations that are part of the South Central Indiana Built for Zero team include Heading Home of South Central Indiana, HealthNet Homeless Initiative Program, Bedford Men’s Warming Shelter, Beacon Inc., WellSpring, South Central Housing Network, and New Hope for Families.
Five other Built for Zero communities — Fairfax County, Va., Washoe County, Nev., Missoula, Mont., St. Louis, Mo., and Thurston County, Wash. — have secured by-name data for all single adults. More than 65 Built for Zero communities have achieved quality by-name data for at least one homeless population.
About Community Solutions
Community Solutions is a nonprofit committed to making homelessness rare and brief. It leads Built for Zero, a network of more than 100 U.S. communities using a data-driven methodology to improve local housing and homelessness response systems and the impact they can achieve. To date, 14 communities have reached functional zero veteran and or chronic homelessness, a milestone for homelessness being rare and brief for a population. Learn more at www.community.solutions or follow us at @CmtySolutions.
MEDIA CONTACT:
Alden Iaconis
(202) 516-6593
alden@keybridge.biz
