INDIANAPOLIS -- Families experiencing homelessness in the Circle City will now have the chance to stay at a former Indianapolis Public Schools elementary building that has been transformed into an emergency winter shelter.
According to a news release, the initiative is the result of a collaboration between the City of Indianapolis and IPS. This has been three years in the making after the IPS Board of School Commissioners approved the use of the Susan Leach School 68 building, located at 120 E. Walnut Street, in 2021 as a contingency site to provide shelter for families experiencing homelessness.
The partnership is part of a wider effort featuring the City of Indianapolis, the Office of Public Health and Safety and other community stakeholders to expand the city's Winter Contingency Plan.
The City plans to have the shelter open by Dec. 15 and is anticipated to accommodate between 34 to 40 families of four. The release said the shelter site would be able to host larger families if the demand required.
According to previous reports, the former IPS school building closed in 2009 amid declining enrollment. At one time, IPS leased the building to the Indiana Juvenile Detention Center which concluded in 2019. The building has remained empty ever since.
In the days before the shelter's opening, Mayor Joe Hogsett's Office of Public Health and Safety is working alongside HelathNet's Homeless Initiative Program to assist families in need until the new shelter is up and running.
The Mayor's Action Center can be reached at 317-327-4622 Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. The center is temporarily closed from 2 to 3 p.m. on Thursdays.
Other contributors to the initiative included Apire Health Indiana, Central Indiana Community Foundation, Home of Hope, St. Vincent De Paul and others.