The first step of a new plan to try eliminating homelessness in Muncie is underway. In the fall of 2016, Muncie shelters plan to be on a coordinated entry plan.
Megan Maxwell-Ranjar, who was hired to help get the plan going, said coordinated entry is an assessment tool for homeless citizens designed to connect homeless individuals and families with the right shelter. This is based on where the individual is likely to be most successful. The idea, according to Maxwell-Ranjbar, is to permanently house these individuals. Coordinated entry will start with people who are chronically homeless. These are individuals who have been homeless for longer than a year or have had four instances of being homeless within a three-year period.
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), first introduced the plan in 2009 as a way to encourage communities in Indiana to use the same assessment tool for their homeless populations. There are two versions of the coordinated entry plan: centralized and decentralized. Decentralized programs offer multiple locations for homeless people to access shelters. Centralized programs offer the homeless population one location, whether it is physical or virtual, where they can enter the system and get the help they need.
In the past, homeless individuals would go to whatever shelter they choose. Now, Muncie will be operating on a centralized plan, and individuals will go to Bridges Community Services to figure out the best shelter for them to attend and the best course of action to become permanently housed.
Terry Whitt Bailey, the director of community development in Muncie said she thinks the plan is important, not only for Muncie, but for surrounding counties as well.
“I think what we’re doing as a region is important because we will be working together. We need to be coordinating our financial and human resources,” she said.
Susie Kemp, the director of Bridges Community Services, said she’s glad to see this plan finally coming into place and believes it’s an important step for Muncie.
“It’s something we’ve been working on for about three years. It’s been hard to determine exactly what was needed, and what we’re really waiting for is the assessment part. We already know how to bring the agencies together, but it’s definitely a step in the right direction,” she said.
WaTasha Barnes Griffin, the residential director at the YMCA of Muncie agreed. “We do serve a lot of homeless individuals in our community, but sometimes we lapse in making sure they get the right services, so having that coordinated entry will be amazing to make sure they are being served in the appropriate setting, while also trying to eliminate chronic homelessness,” she said.
Barnes Griffin added that there might be some resistance to trying out the new plan. However, once the community sees the effects of the plan, more people will likelybe on board.
Maxwell-Ranjbar said she does not like to focus on the fears and worries. She said this is part of a larger shift to eliminate homelessness in not only, Muncie, but all of Indiana.
“I think a better way to talk about it is challenges we see. We have very finite resources we have to use in very specific ways. It’s a community, state, and national effort,” she said.
Maxwell-Ranjbar said the pace of the program development depends on the area shelters working together.
“I think it’s really exciting, because it’s not easy to change systems, and these area shelters should be applauded for taking on so much,” she said.
As fall approaches, area shelters will begin looking at current program rules and requirements for the coordinated entry plan and will look to HUD for guidance in prioritizing housing for homeless individuals in an effort to reach the ultimate goal to eliminate chronic homelessness in Muncie by 2017.
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PHOTO: Terry Whitt Bailey, director of Muncie community development
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