Page 15 - 2019-2020 HVAF Annual Report

"HVAF gave me hope"
How our case managers hous
ed Air Force vet Lianna in 24 hours
In 2011, Lianna Spencer enlisted in the United States Air Force.
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After serving for two years, Lianna got out and went back to her home in Arizona, where she went back to school and work. She also spent one year on the reserva- tion taking care of her grandmother after she broke her leg.
Once her grandmother was doing better, Lianna needed to decide what her next steps would be.
“It was either go back to Arizona or move to Indy and stay with a friend,” she said.
After moving to Indianapolis, it was definitely not what she expected. The friend abused substances and it was not a safe environment for her. When the landlord said he was going to kick both of them out, she realized she needed to get out of the situation and live on her own.
But she didn’t have any money— she had spent all she had on the plane ride to Indiana. After looking up organizations that help the homeless, she discovered HVAF and came in to receive food and assistance.
After talking with some of HVAF’s case managers, William Najera, HVAF’s housing specialist, found an apartment and took her to see it. She liked it and the very next day, she signed the lease and moved in.
She said for the case managers moving so quickly to find her a place meant so much to her.
“The fact that everybody was coming together so quickly for me, in a place that I don’t even really know. That really gave me hope,” Lianna said. “This is a new area, and new beginning.”
Indy’s Veteran Homelessness Population Down 20 Percent
Each year, on one cold night in January, representatives go out into their community and identify homeless individuals, providing a snapshot of the area’s homeless population. In 2017, 328 homeless veterans were identified. This year, that number dropped by 20 percent to 261.
As a way to share the good news, in 2018, Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett joined the Coalition for Home- lessness Intervention and Prevention’s (CHIP) Executive Director, Alan Witchey, and announced the results at HVAF Headquarters earlier this month.
“In January, we gathered as a unified front to continue our effort to end homelessness. Having a place to call Home is something we must strive to provide for every single one of our residents and neighbors,” Mayor Hogsett said. “Last year, we pledged to identify supportive housing for an additional 400 individu- als living with homelessness – a promise that has been fulfilled. But again, that is not the whole solution – only part of it.”
(Former) VP for Advancement Aaron Carmichael thanked Mayor Hogsett and the City of Indianapolis for all of the work they do to help homeless veterans.
“In 2017, more than 600 veterans moved into permanent housing through HVAF’s assistance. This was made possible because a whole community is coming together," Aaron said. “And Mayor, your continual push to see true, lasting change is making a difference.”
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