Housing Action Plan
Recommendations will focus resources to dramatically decrease street homelessness.
Heading Home and our partners have created a plan to address Bloomington’s dramatic increase in street homelessness.
Our Housing Action Plan identifies 8 immediate priority needs and 2 longer-term priorities, all aimed at moving people more quickly into housing with the support services they need to keep them stably housed.
This work was informed in part by a May 2024 survey of unhoused people in Bloomington and Monroe County that was conducted by the South Central Housing Network. The survey found that 117 people were unsheltered at that time, staying in places not fit for human habitation, including cars, encampments, abandoned buildings and on the streets. This is likely an undercount and does not include people who refused to participate in the survey or who could not be reached.
Click here for details of the survey results.
These recommendations align with the broader, regional Heading Home Plan. We will work with homeless service providers, the City of Bloomington and other partners to implement this plan in the coming months.
The partners who developed this plan are:
- Melissa Burgess, HealthNet Homeless Initiative Program
- Forrest Gilmore, Beacon Inc.
- Dana Jones, Wheeler Mission-Bloomington
- Mary Morgan, Heading Home of South Central Indiana
- Emily Pike, New Hope for Families and chair, South Central Housing Network
- Carrie Stillions, Middle Way House
- Tatiana Wheeler, Heading Home of South Central Indiana
We need a broad coalition of stakeholders to address this challenge, beyond the nonprofits that serve residents experiencing homelessness. Stakeholders include the City of Bloomington, Monroe County government, local employers, township trustees, Indiana University and IU Health, concerned community members, and philanthropic organizations including the Community Foundation of Bloomington & Monroe County, Bloomington Health Foundation, IU Health Foundation and United Way of South Central Indiana.
We hope you’ll join us in improving the lives of all residents.
Read the full plan here.
