People in program funded by CARES Act for Indy homeless call for answers
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Indianapolis government is responding to an I-Team 8 story concerning the treatment of people who are homeless by a city contractor.
The city has spent millions moving the people from shelters into private hotel rooms in an effort to slow down the spread of the coronavirus.
News 8 has received a deafening number of complaints from dozens of people living in those hotels.
The city’s contract with Mangas Global Solutions says it is to serve as the city’s front-line representative of all aspects of a program that used $10 million in federal CARES Act money to rapidly rehouse a portion of the city’s homeless population. The city has admitted the program has had some troubles.
Ten people living at hotels near Indianapolis International Airport talked to News 8 via a Zoom call from the lobby of one of the hotels. They feared airing their complaints would get them kicked out of the program.
Rex Faulkner says he worked for both the Marion County Sheriff’s Department and Indianapolis Police Department. He says several chronic medical conditions cost him his career and a place to live. He says the program manager from Mangas Global Solutions for paperwork laid into him when he asked for paperwork.
“Somebody needs to come out here and do the job right,” Faulkner said.
Faulkner’s story mirrors that of several others I-Team 8 talked to. When the city began to bring people to this hotel it hired the Damien Center to provide assistance. The contract ended when, according to Alan Whitchey, the chief executive officer and president of Damien Center, Managas Global Solutions was brought into the picture.
“We had disagreements with Mangas in how they were operating. It seemed we were receiving a lot of client complaints about the way that Mangas was operating in the facility. We did go to the city and provided those complaints. We advocated on behalf of the clients and, ultimately, we decided to pull out because we were not happy with the way the clients were being treated,” Witchey said.
Christina Elliot is one of those clients. Elliot told I-Team 8 that she has a job but had been living in her car when the Damien Center placed her in the hotel. She entered the program three months ago in hopes of finding a permanent place to live. The city has several million dollars in Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act money for the rapid rehousing of the city’s homeless. Since Managas Global solutions took over, she has not heard a thing.
“The last time I heard about what could happen, what was going on, was when I was actually at the Horizon House,” Elliot said.
Elliot and others told News 8 that Mangas and the city have around-the-clock, uniformed, armed security guards on the property. The Damien Center had asked for plainclothes security and a less aggressive approach to the overall security.
Witchey said, “I think the city needs to be aware of Mangas and the number of complaints. … Clients have proved numerous complaints to us in writing. We have proved those to representatives that are overseeing this project.”
The city says it’s working on getting the rapid rehousing program up and running as quickly as possible.
The city has a contract with Mangas that expires at the end of December, but it could be extended. News 8 reached out to Mangas and did not hear back from its representatives.
Indiana State Department of Health on Thursday reported 79 more deaths from COVID-19, bringing the death toll to 6,860. The department also said 6,458 more Hoosiers tested positive for the virus. A total of 447,190 Hoosiers have tested positive for COVID-19.