Press Releases

For Immediate Release Contact for Additional Information: Kat Isbell, Education Specialist, Aurora, Inc.

December 14, 2006 428-3246 housingmatters@destination-home.info

Remembering our neighbors who have died while homeless

Our homes provide each of us a sense of security and a place for safety, keeping our belongings, and being with our loved ones or friends. All too often, many of our community’s residents go without the basic need of shelter in stable housing.

For people like, Dallas, Robert, Terry, and almost five dozen others since 1990 in Evansville and Vanderburgh County, homelessness, or being without stable housing, contributed to their deaths. Their passing provides an opportunity for this community to remember their lives and to recommit to the local effort to end and prevent homelessness, as we’ve known it.

On any given night, at least 400 individuals are temporarily sheltered in our emergency homeless shelters and transitional housing programs. Children comprise one third of that number. An estimated 30-40 individuals spend the night in places not meant for human habitation, such as in parks, vehicles, tents, or under bridges. Approximately 60 Evansville and Vanderburgh County families are homeless daily.

Without stable housing, a person’s life can become difficult, confusing, and unhealthy, with many barriers that arise internally for individuals and that are externally imposed by the community and public policy. Lack of housing can expose individuals and families to hazardous weather conditions, extreme illness, and other life-threatening factors.

Tragically, each year people who are homeless in our southwestern Indiana community die while they are homeless. Some have even died shortly after being housed, their bodies, minds, and beings exhausted from the effects of homelessness.

This year’s annual Homeless Memorial Service will be held at 10:00 a.m. on Wed., Dec. 20, at Trinity United Methodist Church, 216 SE Third St. in downtown Evansville. This local observance is sponsored by Aurora. The public is invited.

Robert, 48, was a local man who experienced homelessness in part of his life. When his mother learned of the Homeless Memorial Service, she said through tears, “I’m glad that somebody else saw him as a person that deserves respect.”

Terry, 55, is remembered by area homeless services staff as “a kind, loving, and gentle spirit.”

Too often Evansville’s homeless are invisible, with our community not realizing the size of our community’s problem, that this county has the highest percentage per capita of any county in Indiana. The death of Dallas Orames, 66, in April 2006, depicts this state of invisibility, when he wasn’t seen by a driver and died as a result of being struck by a garbage truck in early morning hours.

For the past 16 years, National Homeless Persons’ Memorial Day has been observed on or near the first day of winter and the longest night of the year. The National Coalition for the Homeless sponsors the day to bring attention to the tragedy of homelessness and to remember our homeless friends who have paid the ultimate price for our nation's failure to end homelessness. In recent years, more than 100 cities from Detroit to Seattle to Washington, DC sponsored events to honor those who died and to recommit to the task of ending homelessness.

Evansville has participated in the national observance for the last six years. Organizers are aware of 54 individuals who have died over the last 16 years while homeless in Evansville and Vanderburgh County.

In an effort to reduce such tragic effects of homelessness as these remembered deaths, this community is two years into the implementation of “Destination: Home,” the city/county ten-year plan to end homelessness here. One of the strategies of that plan includes the creation of Supportive Housing Projects in order to create permanent housing not merely “shelter” for a segment of this area’s homeless population.

“Supportive housing provides safety and security that fosters stability, a place to call home,” states Luzada Hayes, Executive Director of Aurora and “Destination: Home” Resource Coordinator. “This kind of housing offers support services and builds a sense of community in the housing program and neighborhood.” She adds, “The support services help individuals access opportunities that improve their quality of life and develops a social fabric, which many who are homeless are often without.”

Consider attending the Homeless Memorial Service this year as a means of remembering valuable community members we have lost and of committing yourself to raising awareness of this often-invisible population among us and to working with others to end the scourge of homelessness in this community.

To get involved in the communitywide effort to end and prevent homelessness, visit www.destination-home.info, call (812) 428-3246 or email info@destination-home.info.

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November 27, 2006 Luzada Hayes or Kat Isbell 812.428.3246 info@destination-home.info

Advocates for this community’s people who are homeless will join with Mayor Jonathan Weinzapfel, County Commissioner Tom Shetler, Jr., and other community leaders at 10:00 a.m. on Tuesday, December 12, in the Vectren Community Room, One Vectren Square, in Downtown Evansville to celebrate the second anniversary of the implementation of Destination: Home—A Ten-Year Journey to End Homelessness in Evansville and Vanderburgh Count. The event is open to the public.

This ambitious ten-year plan to end homelessness as we’ve known it, instead of merely “managing” the problem, continues to move forward. Those who attend the anniversary celebration will have the opportunity to hear updates on projects related to the plan’s strategies. Announcements of new partnerships and projects will be made.

Area businesses and organizations will present signed Organizational Endorsements to note their support of the spirit and purpose of the plan. These new endorsements will join the 55 others who have already signified their support.

The event will include other activities as well which celebrate our achievements as a community toward ending and preventing homelessness in our city and county.

Copies of Destination:Home are available at all local libraries and online at www.destination-home.info .

When an 89-year-old grandmother learned that she needed a pacemaker, little did she know that her meeting with a hospital volunteer after her surgery would end up impacting hundreds of Tri-State residents who are homeless.

Evelyn Stone, of Griffin, Indiana, and mother of Carl and Richard "Dick" Isbell of Grayville, received a pacemaker in May 2006 at Deaconess Hospital where she met volunteer, Jennifer Dixon. Through their conversation, Dixon learned of Stone’s granddaughter, Kathi “Kat” Isbell and her job which involves touching the lives of Vanderburgh County’s homeless.

Isbell is the Education Specialist with Aurora, Inc., which offers direct services to the homeless and community development activities, including links to the area’s eighteen specialized homeless service providers. Early this week, Dixon, wife of a Tyson Foods, Inc. employee, told Isbell of an available donation of meat.

3,000 pounds of boneless, skinless chicken thighs have been donated by the Robards, KY, facility of Tyson Foods, Inc. to benefit homeless shelters and transitional housing programs.

With the sweltering temperatures of late, Aurora’s staff sought a refrigerated truck to transport the donation. Through tips from Christian Fellowship Church staff, Isbell connected with Alan Clark, part-owner of CRS One Source. Clark arranged for a truck to pick up and deliver the chicken to Aurora’s parking lot.

This Friday afternoon, 600 five-pound bags of chicken thighs will be picked up by staff from Albion Fellows Bacon Center, Dorthea McGregor Family Shelter, Goodwill Family Center, Hannah House, House of Bread and Peace, Lucas Place, Ozanam Family Shelter, Evansville Rescue Mission, United Caring Shelters, YWCA, and Aurora’s Homeless Outreach Team.

On any given night, at least 400 individuals are temporarily sheltered in our community’s emergency homeless shelters and transitional housing programs. One third of those are children.

At least another 30-40 are living in places not meant for human habitation, e.g. abandoned buildings, under bridges, and in vehicles. These figures don’t include those who have no permanent residence as they stay with friends, family or in motels.

In light of numbers like these, Aurora serves as the coordinator for “Destination:Home,” the ten-year plan for ending and preventing homelessness in Evansville and Vanderburgh County. For more information on this plan and how you can become involved, contact Aurora at (812) 428-3246 or 1100 Lincoln Ave, Evansville, IN 47714 or visit www.auroraevansville.org

Thinking of the poultry provisions resulting from her pacemaker surgery, Evelyn Stone stated, “It is a good feeling to think that I, in my elderly years, had some little thing to do with helping someone in need. I give the Lord the praise. I know He had a part in it.”

In Response ... to April 17, 2006 letter to the editor re: "Too many agencies trying to aid homeless"

A recent letter to the editor cited the fact that the April 8th "Homeward Bound – 5K Walk to Provide Housing & Fight Homelessness" raised funding to support 11 area agencies. In it, the author posed a relevant question: Do we really need 11 agencies?

Evansville is ranked highest in the state in the number of homeless individuals per capita, with at least 400 individuals housed in our emergency shelters and transitional housing programs on any given night. Over a third of them are under the age of 18. In addition, there are an estimated 30-40 individuals living in places not meant for habitation.

In order to serve the 400-plus people who are homeless in our community, those 11 agencies and others are indeed needed in our current system of service delivery. Funds from such events such as the annual walk are critical, since the monies are undesignated and can be used by the agencies to fund expenses and projects not often covered in other private and government funding earmarked in specific ways

Each of these agencies provide specialized services, such as emergency shelter for families, or single men and women. Day shelters offer hot meals, showers, laundry, toiletries, and a place to come inside out of the elements. Transitional housing, case management, financial assistance for establishing a home or avoiding eviction, food assistance, substance abuse treatment, health care, prescription assistance, transportation, information & referral, employment training services, and more are offered through these and other agencies. For a list of these agencies and their specialized services, visit www.destination-home.info/calendar.htm

In reality, there are 18 specialized programs in Evansville. For the last year, nearly all of them have operated at capacity. Families seeking shelter are often turned away daily. Men’s shelters frequently resort to offering mats on the floor when all their beds are filled. Waiting lists for transitional housing and subsidized housing programs exceed capacity rates for the next 10 years. The current demand for services consistently exceeds availability.

To avoid duplication of services, many of these services agencies meet regularly and work collaboratively to serve the homeless. Some may see the same clients at times; however, each agency brings a unique tool needed in helping an individual become permanently housed or to prevent potential homelessness from occurring.

We recognize that our current system of services is in need of revision to reflect the current realities, and the work toward that end has begun. Our community is well into the second year of "Destination Home: A Ten Year Journey to End Homelessness in Evansville and Vanderburgh County". This communitywide plan establishes the parameters for ending and preventing homelessness in our community by addressing both the root causes and the effects of homelessness.

We would invite you to view the plan at www.destination-home.info or any Evansville-Vanderburgh Public Library or the Willard Library. For further information or to find out how you or your organization can get involved, e-mail us at info@destination-home.info, or call (812) 428-3246.

Together, we can create a community in which each one of us has a place we can truly call "home."

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact for Additional Information: Diane Wargel, Media Coordinator 436-0224 ext. 28

The Homeward Bound Walk is a 5K walk-a-thon in Evansville that is sponsored by local homeless and affordable housing service providers that will host hundreds of walkers on Saturday, April 8, 2006 at the Casino Aztar Pavilion. Registration begins at 8:30 and walk begins at 10 a.m.

The Indiana Coalition on Housing and Homeless Issues collaborates with 11 nonprofit programs and agencies in our community to organize Homeward Bound. These agencies are: Amethyst House, Aurora, Inc., Community Action Program of Evansville and Vanderburgh County, Inc. (CAPE), Echo Community Health Care, Inc. (ECHC), ECHO Housing Corporation (EHC), House of Bread and Peace, Mental Health Association in Vanderburgh County, Outreach Ministries, Tri-State Food Bank, United Caring Shelters, and YWCA of Evansville.

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