Located on the second floor of the Marion County Arrestee Processing Center, the Reuben Engagement Center will offer services to those experience homelessness while dealing with addiction or mental health issues.
City-County Councilor Leroy Robinson was a sponsor of the project's proposal. He says he has been discussing an engagement center such as this one for three decades and thanked the homeless community of Indianapolis for teaching him about homelessness.
"I want to thank them for the long talks, the walks for listening and learning about the process and their experiences," Robinson says. "Those conversations have changed me forever."
Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett says the facility will be staffed by medical personnel will feature services from private and not-for-profit organizations.
"We aren't just constructing a new facility. Rather, we are embarked on the construction of a new model for the relationship between social services and criminal justice," Hogsett says.
Hogsett's office is planning to host 10 town hall forums focused on the causes of poverty and crime and how Indianapolis residents can get involved.
The Reuben Engagement Center is scheduled to open within the next three months.