HORIZON HOUSE INC

As the only secular day shelter in Indianapolis, Horizon House fulfills the community’s need to provide a safe, accessible and welcoming space for individuals experiencing homelessness. Horizon House, however, offers much more to our neighbors than a safe space – the array of comprehensive and collaborative services is unmatched in our community, and function as a multi-service community center for individuals and families experiencing homelessness in Indianapolis. Horizon House is honored to serve any adult (or child accompanied by a parent or legal guardian) in Marion County, Indiana, experiencing homelessness regardless of race, creed, ethnicity, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, family composition, educational background, religion or disability. The majority of neighbors served meet federal "low income" guidelines, and most earn less than 30% of Area Median Income (AMI).

Horizon House identifies its target population based on the HUD definition of “homeless” as summarized: an individual or family who 1) lacks a fixed, regular and adequate nighttime residence; 2) will imminently lose their primary residence; 3) is fleeing domestic violence, or 4) unaccompanied youth under 25 or families with children or youth who are homeless under other Federal statutes. The agency impacts the lives of more than 4,000 homeless individuals each year. Horizon House addresses the immediate and essential needs of individuals and families experiencing homelessness while maximizing our capacity to empower clients to secure stable income and housing that is sustainable.

Included in Horizon House's Extended 2020 Strategic Plan adopted by the agency's Board of Directors and staff are the following:

Strategic Goal #1: Provide an effective continuum of services that begins with meeting basic needs but ultimately focuses on helping neighbors secure and sustain income and permanent housing.

Strategic Goal #2: Establish a healthy and supportive organizational culture that is intentional about promoting trust and stability for the organization and its personnel.

Strategic Goal #3: Realign the Horizon House brand to reflect the organization's full spectrum of services from meeting basic needs to promoting self-sufficiency.

Strategic Goal #4: Establish a sustainable financial model with predictable and diverse revenue streams.

Horizon House made significant changes to our organizational structure in 2018 by adding the following positions:
Deputy Director, Program Manager (promoted from within), and Data and Evaluation Manager (promoted from within) and Donor Development Manager. Other positions were redesigned to better match current needs of the organization. A Director of Operations position became an Operations Manager, and a Client Services Coordinator position was upgraded to a Clinical Supervisor. In addition, Horizon House hired 7 housing team members after being awarded a contract in 2018 to provide housing navigation and intensive case management services to approximately 50 chronically homeless households moving into housing, many coming directly from the streets.

Collectively, these changes have created increased capacity to focus on critical components of the agency's strategic plan. The addition of the Deputy Director enables the Executive Director to prioritize externally focused strategies without sacrificing attention to day-to-day operations. Similarly, the addition of the Program Manager allows the Program Director to devote needed energy to strategic program development based on best practices, community collaboration, and enhanced program outcomes. The Data and Evaluation Manager position, a first in the history of the agency, provides the capacity for Horizon House to move beyond simple outcome tracking to deeper analysis of trends and impacts of programming. Combined with client satisfaction surveys, this data analysis will be used to improve program content and processes to help a larger number of clients achieve income and housing outcomes.

In 2017 Horizon House was honored to receive a $5 million gift from the Indianapolis-based Lilly Endowment, the majority of which remains invested as an endowment fund. Using a small portion of the grant designated for operations, Horizon House completed a technology upgrade, hired the new Donor Development Manager, funded the most recent strategic planning process, and provides training to board and staff, including a series of leadership training workshops for the entire management/supervisor team.

Horizon House continues to play a vital role in the service to homeless neighbors as we work with other providers within the community. We truly serve as a resource center for homeless individuals ("neighbors") by collaborating with a variety of agencies to provide as many services as possible in one location. In addition to employment readiness training, intensive case management, housing & outreach, we collaborate with Eskenazi Health who operates the Pedigo Health Center within our facility. The Health Center provides integrated, holistic mental health & medical care for neighbors as well as a full time financial counselor to complete applications for health care coverage with our neighbors.

Our Housing Team works closely with the Indianapolis Housing Agency (IHA) to complete the application process for clients being referred for homeless preference vouchers, then provides intensive wrap around services to help connect clients and family members to community based services that support housing stability.

Additional onsite partners include:
Local companies to offer employment workshops, onsite job fairs, and other networking opportunities;
Marion County Superior Court Probation Department and Indianapolis Parole District 3 (for neighbors under Department of Correction or Court supervision);
Second Helpings to provide nutritious food, snacks and a hot meal;
Hoosier Veterans Assistance Foundation (HVAF) to outreach to individuals eligible for service-related benefits and programs;
St. Vincent de Paul to help address basic needs for clothing and other supplies.