Indianapolis Hebrew Congregation Brit Olam Committee

01/24/2025

VSCC LWVIN
4:22 PM (8 minutes ago)
to Amy, bcc: me

I am sharing the Action Network message on SB 10. https://actionnetwork.org/letters/oppose-sb-10-suppresses-vote-of-students-and-legally-registered-voters?source=direct_link&

· Ends the ability of college/university students to use their state-issued ID from a state educational institution as an ID to vote or register to vote.

· Increases the likelihood that validly registered citizens will be purged from the voting rolls.

· Restricts when license branch employees (BMV) may ask an individual if they want to register to vote or update the voter registration record to transactions for a driver’s license or state ID.

· Reduces the number of citizens who will be able to vote in a state that has the lowest voter turnout already. Indiana ranks 50 out of 51.

· Puts a thumb on the scales as to who can and who cannot vote, increasing the likelihood that legitimately registered voters will be disenfranchised.

It is scheduled for a hearing on Monday, Jan. 27 at 8:00 am.

Please share the link with your League members and on your social media platforms.
Please come to the hearing.

01/23/2025

Register here: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_ev-953peS_2U71AowGjvvQ?link_id=1&can_id=4f25a172470c3d8116d74ef017d5d8df&source=email-join-us-2025-legislative-update-webinar&email_referrer=email_2591808&email_subject=join-us-2025-legislative-update-webinar #/registration

09/16/2024

Innocence Project and Midwest Innocence Project client will be executed on Sept. 24 for a crime he didn't commit if does not step in. Join me in calling him now: 417-373-3400 https://shorturl.at/K7jDT

07/15/2024

New Indianapolis Food Insecurity Coalition.

The Indianapolis Community Food Access Coalition was created by the city three years ago but wasn’t formalized until now.

07/12/2024

The Indianapolis Star | Page A002 Friday, 12 July 2024
Bookmark and Share
St. Lucas Lofts boosts Indy’s affordable housing

The modern St. Lucas Lofts building looks as though it could command luxury rent prices. Despite the building’s premium countertops, modern design and onsite gym, the owners aim not to earn a profit but to help formerly homeless young adults and low-income families improve their lives.

The building on Indy’s near east side will house families between 30% and 60% of the area’s median income. Ten of the 48 units are set aside for young adults experiencing homelessness, who receive rental assistance from the city of Indianapolis’ Department of Metropolitan Development and the Indianapolis Housing Agency.

Some families have already moved into the complex at East New York Street and North Rural Street, which opened in June. The building held a ribbon-cutting ceremony Wednesday to celebrate the project’s completion.

The building , funded partially by CVS Health , will offer on-site support for mental and community health. The philosophy underpinning the construction is 'housing first,' where formerly unsheltered individuals are provided housing with wrap-around services designed to enable financial independence.

Pearl Brown, a 19-year-old from the near east side, began experiencing intermittent homelessness at 18 after becoming pregnant. Brown said that she struggled to find a place to live.

'Especially young mothers out here, we suffer. We struggle to take care of our kids and then can’t find a house we can’t afford,' Brown said.

Brown spent months on a waiting list for housing before she finally received keys to an apartment in a building managed by the nonprofit Englewood Community Development Corporation, which also runs the lofts.

More than 300 individuals submitted inquiries or applications for the 48 units in the Lofts when applications opened. Englewood Community Development Corporation will manage about 400 dedicated affordable housing units in 10 buildings, including the lofts, by the end of the year.

'The need is incredibly high,' Abigail Lane said, director of near east side initiatives for Englewood CDC, which fields daily requests for safe and affordable housing.

CVS Health contributed $10 million for the building’s construction, with the city of Indianapolis contributing another $3.5 million. CVS Health has contributed to the development of 1,500 housing units in Indiana since 1999.

Anne Crees, vice president of sales for CVS/Aetna, said the company aims to look at health holistically and find barriers to health outside of a doctor’s visit or pharmacy . Those can often include unsafe living conditions.

'We don’t just want to put people in housing; that doesn’t set them up for success. We want to empower them with access to social programs, education programs, transportation assistance, food insecurity initiatives and things like that,' Crees said.

Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett said the city has no more significant civic duty than caring for its youth, especially those who lack safe places to live.

'It’s unacceptable, but also a tragedy,' Hogsett said about youth and young adult homelessness. 'We are morally obligated to help them.'

The 10 units dedicated to permanent supportive housing for young adults can adapt to the individual’s needs. Outreach Inc, an Indianapolis-based non-profit focused on youth and young adult homelessness, works directly with individuals seeking housing and Englewood CDC to find appropriate units.

St. Lucas Lofts units all feature at least one bedroom but other options exist depending on family size.

The opening comes as cities across the U.S. grapple with rising homelessness and rising housing costs. Homelessness decreased in Indianapolis by 8% in 2023, but those without consistent shelter increased by 77% from 2022. City officials and advocates have focused on creating programs to intervene before homelessness begins, but ever-increasing housing costs and low housing inventory create challenges .

Housing prices in central Indiana hit a record high in May, at an average of $315,000. The average rent in Indianapolis is $1,219 monthly, an increase of more than $300 since January 2018. One-bedroom units at St. Lucas Lofts will range between $400 and $800 monthly and about $1,000 for two-bedroom units.

Tyler Spence is a Pulliam Fellow primarily covering business. He can be contacted at [email protected]

07/07/2024

From June 28, press release from Prosperity Indiana
Supreme Court Rules the Constitution Does Not Protect Homeless Hoosiers
INDIANAPOLIS, IN – In a disappointing ruling, the U.S. Supreme Court today ruled that arresting or fining homeless individuals for sleeping outside when they have nowhere else to go does not violate the Constitution. This ruling sets a dangerous precedent for the thousands of Hoosiers experiencing homelessness in our state and for all the families who are just one missed paycheck away from homelessness.

“CHIP is deeply saddened and angered by the Supreme Court ruling that it is ok to arrest or fine people experiencing homelessness for sleeping outside when there is no alternative,” said Dr. Chelsea Haring-Cozzi, the Executive Director of CHIP, the Coalition for Homelessness Intervention & Prevention, and a Prosperity Indiana member. “This sets a dangerous precedent and will only worsen homelessness in cities across the country. Homelessness is not a criminal issue and should not be addressed as such. We call on our local and state officials to focus on housing solutions and to not be swayed by this ruling. We must do the smart and right thing here in Indiana for our most vulnerable Hoosiers,” said Haring-Cozzi.

This decision makes it easier to jail or fine homeless people for sleeping outside, which will exacerbate homelessness. Communities must now work even harder to focus on housing and other proven solutions to homelessness, despite the ruling. It is critical to understand that punitive measures like jails and fines only worsen the situation.

“The increase of Hoosiers experiencing homelessness is directly correlated with the rising cost to afford rent, which takes $22.07 per hour in 2024, up $3 in just the past year. At the same time, the supply of affordable and available rental housing has declined in Indiana to only 34 affordable and available units for every 100 extremely low income households, the second lowest rate in the Midwest,” said Andrew Bradley, Senior Director of Policy and Strategy at Prosperity Indiana.

“In light of the Supreme Courts’s decision in Johnson v. Grants Pass, it’s clear that Indiana’s state and local policymakers must not respond to the increase in housing cost and the decrease in supply by punishing and criminalizing vulnerable Hoosiers experiencing homelessness. Instead, Indiana’s elected officials must work together to increase the supply of safe, affordable housing, preserve the housing stock we already have, and invest in local practitioners of the proven Housing First model to permanently reduce homelessness,” said Bradley.

Despite this setback, Prosperity Indiana and its members remain committed to supporting all Hoosiers amidst our worsening housing crisis.
links:
https://www.prosperityindiana.org/Policy-News/13375226
https://johnsonvgrantspass.com/

The most important Supreme Court case about homelessness in 40+ years.

07/06/2024

Many of us signed this letter! We hope it finds its mark.

06/08/2024

I am writing to you because you, like me, are committed to the work that Bread For The World is doing to empower legislation in support of the working hungry. The Farm Bill is “moving” in the legislature. So, even though you’ve already reached out to your members of Congress, will you do so again?

Congress has begun considering the House version of the farm bill which, if passed, would cut nearly $30 billion in food assistance benefits. Now is the time to reach back out to your members of Congress to urge them to reject this version of the Farm Bill and support a bill that will invest in a robust, bipartisan bill that will help our food insecure neighbors. You can send your emails here (OR use the QR code I’ve attached). Please be sure to personalize those and to mark the congregation from which you come.

Thank you for your leadership!!

Act Now! Urge your members of Congress to get the job done and pass a family-friendly farm bill.

05/26/2024

Deep conncern!

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack criticized a farm bill draft written by U.S. House Republicans that threatens assistance programs.