INDIANAPOLIS — Research conducted by the local nonprofit Outreach estimated about 7,800 young people between the ages of 14 and 24 experience homelessness in Indianapolis each year. Outreach is not a homeless shelter but provides services to teens and young adults with unstable housing.
The Outreach program center on East New York Street was hopping Wednesday morning. Young people dropped in for a few hours for a hot meal, to shower, or do laundry. But the greater mission is written on the windows at the entrance to the building: Equipping and empowering homeless teens and adults to achieve stability and life transformation.
"We are just different than a social services agency,” said Outreach CEO Andrew Neal. “This is not about coming in and getting a service or being able to get your needs met. It's about getting into relationships with one another. That's what makes Outreach very unique."
Twenty-year-old Markayla discovered Outreach last year. She was pregnant and new to Indianapolis. Now she's a mother with a 5-month-old son who found housing with the help of Outreach.
"I was homeless for about two weeks,” said Markayla. “By the grace of God, Outreach saved me. They're not just here just for financial help and things like that. They're here to help you, give you the tools to life that maybe your parents couldn’t give you, or some type of guidance."
Youth experiencing homelessness often have a background in the foster care system or have fled their homes as runaways, or to escape physical or sexual abuse.
"Our youth and young adults tend to be a little more hidden,” said Kelsie Stringham-Marquis, Outreach director of community partnerships. “So they can experience homelessness in a way that they're bouncing between different locations. So they might be sleeping on a friend's couch for a few days, and then in their car, then in a hotel, then maybe a few days out on the street, then maybe a day in a shelter."
Stringham-Marquis said adults who experience homelessness tend to stay in one place.
Johnnie had issues with his parents and had no place to stay when he was 19. Five years later, he calls the people at Outreach family.
"Stability, a good place to come and stay out of trouble and to know that you're in a safe place with people that love and care for you,” said Johnnie.
"I think that’s the thing that’s really special about Outreach,” said Stringham-Marquis. “We’re able to meet people and love them, regardless of their life circumstances. And that can sound a little floofy. But that need for connection is so, so important for all humans, but specifically for folks in this transitional age. They've experienced a lot of trauma. That trauma is really fresh."
Outreach started in 1996 serving peanut butter and jelly sandwiches out of the back of a car to youth in Broad Ripple living under a bridge. The organization grew and moved from various locations until building the current program center in 2017 at 2416 E. New York Street. The center provides drop-in services on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.
A second program center is open Tuesday evenings at IMPACT Old Southside. A third location is expected to open in Lawrence this summer.
A clothing pantry, computer lab, and life skills classes are other services at Outreach.
“We will help them get into housing, and get stable income, and reconnect with family where that makes sense, and strengthen their support networks,” said Stringham-Marquis. “But we also want to see them thriving and not just surviving.”
Outreach is supported primarily through churches and private donors. They welcome volunteers to work at the centers or serve as mentors.