People of Housing Security:
Daniel Thomas

After a lifetime dedicated to service, Daniel Thomas continues to support others in his role as a Street Outreach Case Manager with Heading Home.

Daniel is embedded at Beacon’s Shalom Day Center. His work is focused on supporting individuals experiencing homelessness in the community, whether they are sleeping in shelters, living outdoors, in vehicles, or in places not meant for habitation.

Through his work, Daniel helps these individuals overcome barriers they may face when trying to secure permanent housing. This includes providing housing-focused case management and connecting them with community resources.

During his time in his role so far, he has found that a history of eviction and lack of income are among the most significant barriers for individuals trying to secure housing. Ultimately, Daniel’s role is part of a larger community initiative working to address unsheltered homelessness in Monroe County. Learn more about that initiative here.

A large portion of Daniel’s days are spent trying to locate clients. “That’s the hardest part,” he said. Not all clients have phones or emails, and even those who do may not always be consistent about responding. Because of this, some days involve driving to common locations and checking known areas in hopes of connecting with clients.

Daniel works closely with other members of the Heading Home team, including Ciara Thompson who is also embedded at Beacon’s Shalom Center. Together, outreach staff will go out to encampments, typically twice a week, bringing supplies to individuals, checking in with them, and continuing to work on next steps towards housing.

In his role, Daniel also supports many veterans, a population he connects with on a personal level. After earning a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Hardin-Simmons University in Abilene, Texas, Daniel joined the Marines. He went on to serve in the Marine Corps for ten years, spending two years overseas during that time and also holding a position as a Marine Platoon Commander.

Following his service, Daniel was a police officer for a couple of years, worked in a maximum security prison, and later was a part of a US Marshall transport team. After the events on 9/11, Daniel served in the Army for 10 more years with several deployments until he was honorably medically discharged in 2015.

At the end of last year, Daniel’s God son had reached out and told him about this position with Heading Home. He liked that he would have the opportunity to help people, especially on an outreach basis. He also enjoys having the ability to grow with this new role. “Even though it’s new, I think we’re heading in the right direction,” he said.

While this is Daniel’s first role in the homelessness sector, he recalls similar experiences from his military service. During a deployment in Afghanistan, he was responsible for transporting displaced children who had lost their homes and families to nearby orphanages.

Daniel shared that his background as a veteran has been invaluable when working with his veteran clients. “When you can talk to someone and practically finish their sentence it makes an instant connection,” he said. “It’s really cool.”

“Even though it’s new, I think we’re heading in the right direction”

Daniel credits his colleagues at Heading Home for keeping him grounded and motivated. He explained that their passion for the work they’re doing is inspiring to see. “When you have people like that, it’s hard not to give 100% all the time,” he said.

When Daniel is not working, he enjoys golfing and all things music. He enjoys playing the guitar, singing, listening to music, and supporting his friends that are in bands. Daniel shared that he really values friendship and still has some great friends from his time in the military. Daniel also recently bought a house when moving to Bloomington, so he enjoys spending his free time fixing it up either by himself or with his friends.