OUR WORK
Heading Home is currently working on several projects to strengthen housing security in our region, including Built for Zero, the Heading Home Guide, Cross-Agency Training, Veteran Case Conferencing, and Regional Outreach
built for zero
Heading Home of South Central Indiana has joined Built for Zero, a national network of more than 100 communities working to measurably and equitably end homelessness. With a focus on Monroe and five surrounding counties, this region is the first in Indiana to join Built for Zero. The partnership with Built for Zero will help improve the regional homelessness response system to achieve measurable reductions in how many people are experiencing, and coming into, homelessness.
Many communities look at program-specific outcomes, generally counting the number of people served. The Built for Zero model, instead, looks at the whole system with the goal of coordinating different programs and activities to ensure that the efforts add up to fewer people facing homelessness. The alliance with Built for Zero will support Heading Home and its partners to strengthen the homelessness response system to reach functional zero, a dynamic, measurable end state to homelessness for a population. The goal to reduce homelessness for all populations will begin by reaching functional zero for veterans. Read more about our Built for Zero partnership by clicking the button below.
Built For Zero PartnershipData Dashboard
Heading Home and its partners have been working to improve regional data to better address barriers to housing people experiencing homelessness. Heading Home has been creating monthly data reports of the region’s Homeless Management Information System (HMIS) to measure system outcomes for people experiencing homelessness. This data dashboard includes data from Monroe, Morgan, and Lawrence counties. The source of this data is the Homeless Management Information System (HMIS).
View Dashboard
Heading Home GUIDE
When looking for available and affordable housing in South Central Indiana, tenants struggle to find up-to-date listings. To address this issue we have published the Heading Home Guide, a housing navigation resource that provides an up-to-date guide for people searching for low-income housing and other assistance.
Housing Choice voucher holders also struggle with finding landlords who will accept their vouchers. In fact, 60% of voucher holders currently can’t find a place that will accept their vouchers. This housing navigation resource guide also includes a list of landlords who are willing to accept vouchers and help mitigate this issue.
cross-agency training
Heading Home provides logistical support to the South Central Housing Network (SCHN). The network is a collection of individuals and organizations who work together to provide and coordinate the best possible housing resources and supportive services to those who are most in need. It covers the counties of Monroe, Morgan, Lawrence, Owen, Greene, and Martin.
In partnership with SCHN, Heading Home created a cross-agency training committee to identify and address training and professional development needs. Quarterly trainings started in September 2022 with topics including cold weather trauma and the Housing First approach.
Veteran Case Conferencing
Several agencies in South Central Indiana are collaborating on a new approach to move homeless veterans more quickly into housing, with logistical support from Heading Home.
Called veteran case conferencing, this is an inter-agency, client-focused meeting that targets next steps to find housing for veterans. The case conferencing group consists of representatives from Beacon Inc., Wheeler Mission, New Hope for Families, Volunteers of America, Monroe County Veterans Affairs, HealthNet, HUD-VASH, Heading Home and Wellspring.
Click here to read more about the case conferencing project.
Regional outreach
Because housing security is a regional issue, Heading Home staff are doing community outreach in South Central Indiana, meeting with leaders in the six-county region of Monroe, Morgan, Lawrence, Owen, Greene, and Martin. These discussions center on building collaborations to best address regional housing security.
Want to convene housing advocates and decision-makers in your community? Contact Mary Morgan at mary@headinghomeindiana.org.
