Homeless service agencies across Indiana are feeling the sting of federal funding cuts driven by a shift away from transitional housing and emergency homeless shelters.
The U.S. Housing and Urban Development's "housing-first" approach favors permanent housing that serves disabled clients and those considered chronically homeless.
That shift has left homeless programs in southern Indiana's Clark and Floyd counties with nearly $550,000 in cuts and forced the elimination of two transitional housing programs that help homeless people get back on their feet.
Leslea Townsend Cronin chairs the Homeless Coalition of Southern Indiana. She tells the News and Tribune the money has "been taken away and not replaced with anything."
Indianapolis programs that provide housing and support to the homeless have seen a more than $687,000 drop in funding this year.