LAFAYETTE — Starting in October, Lafayette Transitional Housing Center will begin homeless outreach and housing coordination services in the seven counties just outside of Tippecanoe. This is part of a Housing and Urban Development Rural Homelessness initiative announced last year.
“LTHC has the expertise of getting unhoused people connected to housing and services,” said President/CEO Jennifer Layton. “It just made sense that we would pursue this funding opportunity when it was announced. We already work with many of these community partners.”
The new counties to be served include Benton, Clinton, Carroll, Fountain, Montgomery, Warren and White Counties. In Tippecanoe County, LTHC provides coordinated services, case management, crisis and day services programming out of the Engagement Center location. The model is for those in a housing crisis to come into this centralized programming spot to begin the process. However, in these outlying communities, the staff will be out looking for people in crisis.
Layton said housing coordinators will be assigned two to three counties and have two primary responsibilities. First will be to locate and engage with households who are without shelter. Activities will focus on crisis shelter plans, connecting to health and other resources, and identifying a plan toward housing.
“We want to help people remain in their home counties,” she said.
The second part of the work will be for the housing coordinators to connect with resources that already exist within each county.
“Our goal is to work with community service organizations to include resources and services for those without housing,” Layton said. “We have been working for several months with many great organizations in these rural communities.”
Many of LTHC’s partners in Tippecanoe County also provides services in these outlying areas as well. Existing relationships with organizations such as Valley Oaks Health, Phoenix Paramedics, InWell, Franciscan and IU Hospitals, veteran-serving organizations, and others have made the expansion smooth.
“People who are experiencing homelessness in other counties do not want to come to Tippecanoe County,” Layton said “We want to help these communities strengthen their own system by ensuring that no person has to experience long-term homelessness.”
Barriers such as unaffordable housing costs, transportation and access to healthcare will be similar challenges in all of the communities that LTHC will be serving. Layton is hopeful to not only build strong services partnerships but also funding relationships with businesses in each community.
“Homelessness is a community issue and we will need all sectors to come together and be a part of the solution,” she said.
To learn more about LTHC’s Rural Homelessness initiative, contact info@lthc.net To learn more about LTHC Homeless Services, contact jshook@lthc.net.
