Organization helping homeless Indianapolis youth expands
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Outreach Inc. has been helping Indianapolis youth for more than 20 years, and the organizations is now getting a big upgrade — moving from a converted duplex home to a new 12,000-square-foot facility.
The old facility, four blocks from its new location on the east side, housed the program for 9 years.
Leaders say the new building on New York Street at Forest Avenue will go a long way to helping more homeless teens.
Mayor Hogsett will be on hand Monday morning at 10 a.m. to cut the ribbon. Since 1996, Outreach Inc. has been fighting the growing problem of homeless and at-risk youth in Indianapolis. This is the fifth local expansion for the organization.
The new facility will feature a space to help at-risk youth. It includes new bathrooms, new showers, a free community closet, internet access and a laundry facility. Computer classes and cooking classes will also be offered.
It all started with Eric Howard handing out peanut butter and jelly sandwiches to homeless youth on the street and building relationship with them.
“I don’t know what it will do for the neighborhood or the community or for central Indiana,” Howard said. “I do know for the hundreds of homeless teens and eventually thousands of teens that we have and will work with that this is a place they can find refuge and they can find hope and they can start to change their life.”
The new building was funded by donations. A large portion was paid for by a Lilly Endowment of $800,000. The rest of the funds for the $3.3 million building came from donations.
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