DONATE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 28, 2022
Contact: Rita O’Donohue | (317) 222-1221 x405 | rodonohue@prosperityindiana.org
INDIANAPOLIS, IN – Prosperity Indiana announced the winners of its annual leadership and program awards at the 2022 Prosperity Indiana Summit on February 17. The Summit Awards Ceremony was an occasion to celebrate the leaders and innovators in the community economic development field. Winners were nominated by their peers and chosen by a judging committee, based on criteria established for each award.
“Such critical work is being done by Prosperity Indiana members and partner organizations across the state to strengthen our communities. As a result, the list of nominees for this year's Prosperity Indiana awards was extremely impressive," said Jessica Love, Executive Director for Prosperity Indiana. "It is an absolute honor to lift up the work of the four 2022 Prosperity Indiana Award recipients. The communities served by the winners, who are based in Bartholomew, Lake, Marion, and Miami Counties, are no doubt forever changed by the work of these individuals and programs.”
Award winners include Janine Betsey, Eric A. Frey, II, Anna Schoon, and Prevent Pricks with ShipHappens.
The Michael Carroll Community Economic Development Leadership Award, sponsored by First Financial Bank and co-presented with the Indiana Housing and Community Development Authority, distinguishes an individual who has exhibited exceptional advocacy to further support the community economic development industry.
Presented to: Janine Betsey, Gene B. Glick Company
Described as a visionary leader who has convened multidimensional partnerships and led redevelopment efforts, Janine Betsey has been a stalwart leader in serving disadvantaged communities, developing dynamic affordable housing projects, and implementing economic development initiatives that have transformed neighborhoods and improved residents’ quality of life.
Known for inspiring female developers and developers of color, her motto that “There is no crying in community development” has pushed others in the field to navigate difficult projects and other career challenges to improve their trajectory going forward.
In her new role as the Director of Tax Credit Operations for Gene B. Glick Company, Betsey is working for an organization with thousands of affordable housing units in areas of high opportunity, like those her own family sought out for her as a child. In her new role managing Glick’s affordable housing efforts, she has a key opportunity to preserve and enhance these units, so that they may serve generations to come.
Other Michael Carroll Community Economic Development Leadership Award nominees include:
Kyle Bach, The Annex Group
Stephen Camilleri, Center for the Homeless
Moira Carlstedt, Indianapolis Neighborhood Housing Partnership
Robin Hilber, City of Columbus - Department of Community Development
Denise Koebcke, The Caring Place
Marco J. Mariani, South Bend Heritage Foundation
Matt Meyers, Bartholomew County Sheriff
Richard Proctor III, Indy Gateway
The John Niederman Rural Development Leadership Award, sponsored by Fifth Third Bank, is designed to celebrate outstanding leaders in the field of rural community economic development.
Presented to: Eric A. Frey, II, Southern Indiana Housing and Community Development Corporation
With more than 28 years of experience in the acquisition and administration of federal, state, and private grant programs in rural communities, Eric Frey knows the ins and outs of Community Development Block Grant program administration and how to lead industrial and economic development, housing rehabilitation, and capital improvements projects, and commercial, industrial and microenterprise lending programs.
Described as someone who is always finding creative ways to reach the end goal, Frey is said to have helping people at the heart of his leadership. And while he tries to stay in the shadows, as executive director of Southern Indiana Housing and Community Development Corporation and Administrative Resources association in Columbus, Frey is known for orchestrating the right people at the right time to reach the goal at hand.
Other Rural Development Leadership Award nominees include:
Bo Beaulieu, Purdue University
G. Dean Byers, Habitat for Humanity of Marshall County
Anna Schoon, Northwest Indiana Community Action
The Robert O. Zdenek Staff Member of the Year Award, sponsored by Brightpoint, recognizes the outstanding professional leadership and commitment of a staff person working for a community economic development organization.
Presented to: Anna Schoon, Northwest Indiana Community Action
Anna Schoon is an expert in Adverse Childhood Experiences, or ACEs, a Certified Community Action Professional, a Results Oriented Management and Accountability trainer, a leader of poverty simulations, creator and organizer for the Reimagine Conference focused on ACEs, and the lead staff person for a variety of programs at the Northwest Indiana Community Action agency, or NWICA. Through her role as VP of Planning & Business Development, she is known for actively planning, collaborating, and developing opportunities across NWICA’s multi-county service territory to better lives for those in the most populated and most rural areas within Indiana.
Schoon has spent more than 20 years “working with low-income and socially diverse populations to help them develop economic stability via opportunities for housing and employment. And she weaves advocacy in all of her actions, and it is her actions that make the impact,” according to her nomination.
Other Staff Member of the Year nominees include:
Erin Emerson, Perry County Development Corporation
Rob Evans, Indianapolis Neighborhood Housing Partnership
Nicholas Hunot, Renew Indianapolis
Pablo Malavenda, Lafayette Urban Ministry
Natalie Powell, Hoosier Uplands EDC
Aaron Roberts, Ivy Tech-Indianapolis/Noblesville
The Key Award for Supportive Services Program of the Year, sponsored by Merchants Bank of Indiana, honors excellence and innovation in a service-oriented (non-construction) community development initiative.
Presented to: Prevent Pricks with ShipHappens
A volunteer-led, community-based initiative, the winning program increases health and safety while reducing stigma and discrimination. It raises public awareness and acceptance of evidence-based harm reduction principles, policies, and programs among public health and health care systems, local government, and the general public.
Prevent Pricks is designed to be equitable and inclusive of all syringe-using residents: meaning people with chronic diseases, those in need of hormone or vitamin deficiency injections, and people who use drugs.
Since launching the syringe disposal pilot program in October 2020, the program has eliminated accidental needle pricks of City and County Street Department workers in Miami County and Peru, Indiana, saving the $500-$4000 it costs to treat a single needlestick injury, and the program has seen a 29 percent decrease in improper syringe disposal calls to the Peru Police Department.
Other Key Award nominees include:
Embedded Police Social Worker Program with the Bloomington Police Department
Eviction Prevention Program with the Homeless Coalition of Southern Indiana
Fort Wayne Cares-Emergency Rental Assistance Program with the City of Fort Wayne, Indiana Legal Services, Just Neighbors, Brightpoint, Catholic Charities, and Lutheran Social Services
Permanent Supportive Housing with Horizon House
###
About Prosperity Indiana
The Indiana Association for Community Economic Development d/b/a Prosperity Indiana builds a better future for our communities by providing advocacy, leveraging resources, and engaging an empowered network of members to create inclusive opportunities that build assets and improve lives. Since its founding in 1986, Prosperity Indiana’s network has grown to nearly 200 organizations, representing thousands of practitioners statewide from the public, private, and nonprofit sectors.
December 8, 2021
Announcing Candidates for Prosperity Indiana’s 2022 Annual Awards!
INDIANAPOLIS, IN – Top community development leaders and programs across Indiana have been nominated for the prestigious Prosperity Indiana Awards. Winners have not been named and will be announced at the annual Prosperity Indiana Summit on February 17, 2022.
The Michael Carroll Community Economic Development Leadership Award, sponsored by First Financial Bank, and co-presented by Prosperity Indiana and the Indiana Housing and Community Development Authority, distinguishes an individual who has exhibited exceptional advocacy to further support the community economic development industry.
Candidates:
Janine Betsey, Gene B. Glick Company
Stephen Camilleri, The Center for the Homeless
The John Niederman Rural Development Leadership Award, presented by Fifth Third Bank, is designed to celebrate outstanding leaders in the field of rural community economic development.
Eric A. Frey, II, Southern Indiana Housing and Community Development Corporation (SIHCDC)
The Robert O. Zdenek Staff Member of the Year Award, presented by Brightpoint, recognizes the outstanding professional leadership and commitment of a staff person working for a community economic development organization.
The Key Award for Supportive Services Program of the Year, presented by Merchants Bank of Indiana, honors excellence and innovation in a service-oriented (non-construction) community development initiative.
Permanent Support Housing with Horizon House
Prevent Pricks with ShipHappens
The 2022 Prosperity Indiana Summit is open to the public and centered on building relationships and an equitable economy through policy, programs, performance, and philanthropic investments. If you would like to attend the virtual event on February 17, 2022, please register at prosperityindiana.org/summit.
The Indiana Association for Community Economic Development d/b/a Prosperity Indiana builds a better future for our communities by providing advocacy, leveraging resources, and engaging an empowered network of members to create inclusive opportunities that build assets and improve lives. Since its founding in 1986, Prosperity Indiana’s network has grown to nearly 200 organizations, representing more than 1,000 practitioners statewide from the public, private, and nonprofit sectors.
August 26, 2021
Contact: Jessica Love, Executive Director, executivedirector@prosperityindiana.org
Prosperity Indiana Receives Grant to Strengthen Emergency Rental Assistance Programs in Indiana
INDIANAPOLIS – Prosperity Indiana is pleased to announce an award totaling $80,000 from National Low Income Housing Coalition (NLIHC) to support and strengthen emergency rental assistance programs in Indiana. Prosperity Indiana joins 27 state and local organizations selected for the NLIHC Ending Rental Arrears to Stop Evictions (ERASE) grantee cohort. The cohort will work to influence state and local emergency rental assistance (ERA) programs and ensure that ERA funds quickly reach the lowest-income and most marginalized people. The ERASE program seeks to ensure housing stability for the lowest-income renters in the short-term while building the framework for long-term sustainability.
“This opportunity to bolster efforts to get emergency rental assistance out the door and to those who need it most comes at a critical time,” said Jessica Love, executive director for Prosperity Indiana. “The temporary extension of the CDC eviction moratorium gives us a brief window to help assess where the ERA programs are experiencing challenges. Then we can come alongside these programs to share best practices to target outreach, get landlords paid, keep people housed, and prevent evictions, even after the moratorium has been lifted.”
Building off NLIHC’s ERASE call to action, grantees will work to:
Prosperity Indiana’s grant will add capacity for the Hoosier Housing Needs Coalition to support and strengthen Indiana’s seven ERA programs. Specifically, the grant will support Prosperity Indiana’s work to implement the framework of the White House Eviction Prevention Summit’s Indianapolis working group to ensure equitable implementation of emergency rental assistance that can serve as a model to scale statewide. The participants in this working group will engage community stakeholders, including housing providers, public officials, low-income tenants, and Black, indigenous, and other people of color to implement a checklist to strengthen equitable marketing and targeting of ERA and other recovery programs to ensure outreach to the hardest hit communities. The group has prioritized reducing barriers for tenants and landlords to apply for and receive the maximum allowed amount of ERA funds in the shortest possible amount of time. The framework also includes actions to strengthen connections and coordination between court-based eviction diversion activities and the Emergency Rental Assistance program, exploring adding ERA program access points in courts during eviction proceedings to increase awareness and fast-track applications. Prosperity Indiana plans to use outcome data to ensure that the communities most at need are being served and the local effort in Indianapolis can be scaled to other ERA programs and courts statewide to help ensure no one is left out of a stronger and more equitable recovery for all Hoosiers.
Love said, “A lot is at stake here. Not only do we want to see communities maximize the short-term assistance being made available to respond to the crisis, but we also want to help state and local policymakers reimagine the policy infrastructure that is driving our broader response to housing needs. If we can help strengthen partnerships among community partners through this process, we’ll be better prepared to address any other current or future challenges our state might face.”
In addition to Prosperity Indiana, the ERASE grantees are:
Since its founding in 1986, Prosperity Indiana has used its broad membership base to help Hoosiers meet their basic needs, preserve and expand affordable housing, and connect individuals and families to education, employment, and economic opportunity. The organization is known for its role as a convener and advocacy voice in Indiana’s community development landscape and has established its presence as an authority on housing and community development policy.
The Indiana Association for Community Economic Development d/b/a Prosperity Indiana builds a better future for our communities by providing advocacy, leveraging resources, and engaging an empowered network of members to create inclusive opportunities that build assets and improve lives. Since its founding in 1986, Prosperity Indiana has grown to nearly 200 members from the public, private, and nonprofit sectors.
About the National Low Income Housing Coalition
Founded in 1974, National Low Income Housing Coalition (NLIHC) educates, organizes and advocates to ensure decent, affordable housing for everyone. NLIHC’s goals are to preserve existing federally assisted homes and housing resources, expand the supply of low income housing, and establish housing stability as the primary purpose of federal low income housing policy.
July 20, 2021
Contact: Andrew Bradley, Prosperity Indiana, (317) 222-1221 x403, abradley@prosperityindiana.org; Nia Bolden, Center for Community Progress, (877) 542-4842 x153, nbolden@communityprogress.org
National Land Bank Leader Selects Prosperity Indiana to Join First Cohort of Scholarship Winners
INDIANAPOLIS, IN – The Center for Community Progress (Community Progress) announced today the first cohort of competitively selected scholarship winners, including Prosperity Indiana, through their new Land Bank Incubator Scholarship Program.
The program, made possible by generous support from Arnold Ventures, provides free technical assistance, valued at up to $75,000, to local and state leaders who seek to create new land banks and pilot innovative land bank practices in the face of emerging challenges to our communities and neighborhoods triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The Great Recession proved that land banks are an innovative, impactful tool for virtually any community and can play a central role in repairing our neighborhoods through equitable, inclusive development that uplifts all people,” said Dr. Akilah Watkins, President and CEO for Community Progress.
These scholarships will help grow land banks across the country, ensuring that more communities are prepared to respond to and eliminate vacancy resulting from both historic challenges and the unprecedented pandemic. “We are excited to begin our partnership with Prosperity Indiana, working with local and state leaders that support our shared goal of utilizing land banks to advance an equitable recovery for all,” said Watkins.
“We’re fortunate in Indiana that we already have land bank enabling legislation, but our law needs some work for communities to maximize the benefits of this vital redevelopment tool. In light of the economic implications of COVID-19, we simply cannot afford to wait any longer to address the limitations in our state code,” said Jessica Love, executive director for Prosperity Indiana.
The national experts from Community Progress will work with Prosperity Indiana and stakeholders from across the state to identify and develop legislative reforms to optimize existing, but limiting, state-enabling land bank legislation so land banks can become a powerful tool to support equitable recovery efforts in communities across the great state of Indiana. The scholarship provides up to 200 hours of expert, technical support at no cost to Prosperity Indiana, as well as a small local grant for inclusive community engagement. The work will begin in July 2021 and continue through the first quarter of 2022.
“Thanks to the opportune timing of Community Progress’ technical assistance program, we’re looking forward to having recommended language ready before the General Assembly reconvenes in 2022 to address our land banking law’s various impediments,” said Love.
Prosperity Indiana has already formed a diverse and inclusive coalition of local, regional, and state leaders to ensure the proposed improvements meet the needs of urban, suburban, and rural communities across the state, one of the key reasons why the organization’s scholarship application was so competitive.
In addition to Prosperity Indiana, the first cohort of scholarship winners also includes the following:
The Growing Land Bank Need in the Face of COVID-19
Since 2010, approximately 200 land banks have launched across the United States, largely as a response to the Great Recession’s destabilizing impacts to neighborhoods all across this country, which brings the total of land banks in operation across the country to nearly 250. Land banks are special entities, created by state legislation, that are granted unique legal powers to effectively tackle vacant, abandoned, and deteriorated properties consistent with community priorities. These governmental entities—operating across diverse geographies like Toledo, OH, Omaha, NE, Houston, TX, Huntington, WV, and rural counties in NY—have proven to be effective tools for communities facing widespread vacancy stemming from economic crises, natural disasters, or other disruptive events.
Today, another national crisis, the COVID-19 pandemic, is not only threatening public health, but also disrupting real estate markets, household security, and neighborhood vitality—and doing so with a disproportionate impact on communities of color. Over the next few years, it is expected that state and local leaders will again turn to land banks to help minimize the harms of vacant, distressed properties and to assist in an equitable recovery.
The Land Bank Incubator Scholarship Program is a proactive effort to fill a critical need at a critical time.
As America’s leading organization helping communities address systemic vacancy, abandonment, and deterioration, Community Progress has led a number of initiatives to further one of the fastest growing community development tools, land banks. Those efforts include producing the seminal publications on land banks for the field of practice, collaborating to garner support for the National Land Bank Network Act, and helping develop land bank enabling legislation in 15 states.
About the Scholarships: Helping High-Need, Limited Resource Communities
The new Land Bank Incubator Scholarship Program supports growing the number of land banks across the country, driving transformative and innovative land bank practices in the face of emerging challenges to our communities and neighborhoods triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic. A national, competitive program open to eligible applicants from all 50 states, Washington D.C., and Puerto Rico, the initiative’s three primary objectives are to:
Communities interested in launching new land banks or seeking to advance optimal statewide land bank legislation are invited to learn more at https://www.communityprogress.net/land-bank-incubator-scholarship-pages-594.php.
For interviews or more information on the Land Bank Incubator Scholarships, email info@communityprogress.org or call (877) 542-4842.
About the Center for Community Progress
Founded in 2010, the Center for Community Progress is the national leader for building strong, equitable communities where vacant, abandoned, and deteriorated properties are transformed into assets for neighbors and neighborhoods. Today, Community Progress has affected change in more than 48 states and 300 communities through leadership education and advancing local and state reforms to systems, policies, and practices with a focus on racial equity. Simply, we work to transform “Vacant Spaces into Vibrant Places.” For more information, visit www.communityprogress.org.
About Arnold Ventures
Arnold Ventures is a philanthropy dedicated to tackling some of the most pressing problems in the United States. We invest in sustainable change, building it from the ground up based on research, deep thinking, and a strong foundation of evidence. We drive public conversation, craft policy, and inspire action through education and advocacy.
We are a team of more than 90 subject-matter experts headquartered in Houston with offices in New York and Washington, D.C. We work in four key issue areas: Criminal Justice, Education, Health, and Public Finance. Our work is guided by Evidence-Based Policy, Research, and Advocacy. For more information, visit www.arnoldventures.org.
Indiana Association for Community Economic Development d/b/a Prosperity Indiana builds a better future for our communities by providing advocacy, leveraging resources and engaging an empowered network of members to create inclusive opportunities that build assets and improve lives. Since its founding in 1986, Prosperity Indiana has grown to nearly 200 members from the public, private and nonprofit sectors.
May 17, 2021
Contact: Jessica Love | (317) 222-1221 x402 | jlove@prosperityindiana.org
Prosperity Indiana Receives $50k from First Financial for Capacity Building
INDIANAPOLIS – Prosperity Indiana is pleased to leverage a $50,000 grant from the First Financial Foundation and First Financial Bank (Nasdaq: FFBC) to support community-based organizations seeking to expand affordable housing and services across the Hoosier state. The grant will specifically underwrite Prosperity Indiana’s capacity building work with community economic development practitioners throughout Indiana.
“Working through Prosperity Indiana gives us a channel to invest in Indiana neighborhoods in a way that will give more individuals equal access to resources and opportunity,” said Roddell McCullough, director of community development for First Financial Bank. “First Financial exists to be woven into the communities we serve, so we look forward to the impact this funding will make in those communities throughout the state.”
As Indiana’s only cross-sector network for community development organizations, Prosperity Indiana builds capacity through cutting-edge training and consulting projects that nurture problem-solving, collaboration, and innovation skills. Through grant activities, Prosperity Indiana will strengthen the capacity of a wide variety of stakeholders dedicated to improving quality of life for the people and in the places that most need it. The ultimate goal of the program is to create economic resiliency for low- to moderate-income individuals. As Indiana communities rebuild post-pandemic, Prosperity Indiana has resolved to fortify the field’s ability to provide services and affordable housing with racial equity at the core of the work. Now is the time to consider new ways to bring about true organizational resilience that will lead to improved opportunities for the individuals and communities looking to rebuild in transformative ways in 2021 and beyond.
“Resources for nonprofit capacity building are so limited, it’s always significant when we can secure funding to make training and consulting more accessible to our members and partners. But in light of the pandemic and its impact on the level of need to provide affordable housing and family resiliency services, an award of this size from First Financial feels momentous,” said Jessica Love, executive director of Prosperity Indiana.
Grant funds are currently supporting the Changing4Good webinar series, Prosperity Indiana’s first major training installment of the year. The Changing4Good series will empower individuals to develop adaptive and technical solutions to meet post-pandemic challenges facing their organization and community. With support from First Financial, Prosperity Indiana is now able to make the Changing4Good webinar series free to anyone wishing to attend. Registration is now open. The First Financial grant will also support the upcoming Prosperity Indiana Real Estate Development Academy and other training and consulting related to industry-specific technical and adaptive challenges and expertise.
“With support from leaders in the Hoosier state such as First Financial, we look forward to continuing and expanding our support to the individuals, organizations and communities doing the hard work of strengthening our communities in equitable ways.”
About First Financial Bancorp.
First Financial Bancorp. is a Cincinnati, Ohio based bank holding company. As of March 31, 2021, the Company had $16.2 billion in assets, $9.9 billion in loans, $12.6 billion in deposits and $2.3 billion in shareholders' equity. The Company's subsidiary, First Financial Bank, founded in 1863, provides banking and financial services products through its six lines of business: Commercial, Retail Banking, Investment Commercial Real Estate, Mortgage Banking, Commercial Finance and Wealth Management. These business units provide traditional banking services to business and retail clients. Wealth Management provides wealth planning, portfolio management, trust and estate, brokerage and retirement plan services and had approximately $3.1 billion in assets under management as of March 31, 2021. The Company operated 143 full service banking centers as of March 31, 2021, primarily in Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky and Illinois, while the Commercial Finance business lends into targeted industry verticals on a nationwide basis. Additional information about the Company, including its products, services and banking locations, is available at www.bankatfirst.com.
March 17, 2021
CONTACT: Jessica Love | (317) 222-1221 x402| jlove@prosperityindiana.org
Prosperity Indiana Grows Team to Expand Capacity Building Resources, Programs
INDIANAPOLIS – Prosperity Indiana is excited to announce that Marie Beason has joined the PI team as Capacity Building Director. In this role, she will utilize her skills in training and community development to strengthen pathways to prosperity for Indiana families, communities and the organizations that serve them. Another exciting update is that Teresa Reimschisel is moving to a full-time role as Operations & Special Projects Manager.
Beason’s deep roots in community-based programming began with her work as Executive Director of the Indianapolis Neighborhood Resource Center (INRC) and grew throughout her career leading philanthropic and nonprofit organizations. Prior to joining Prosperity Indiana, Beason operated a consulting practice helping nonprofit clients conceptualize strategies, assess programs and implement recommended action plans to achieve organizational success. Prior to consulting, Beason served as Director of Professional Development for the Indiana Philanthropy Alliance, where she led organizational development efforts on behalf of Indiana’s philanthropic sector.
Beason said, “My career in philanthropy and nonprofit leadership has solidified my belief that social change is best achieved through a symbiotic relationship between policy, programs and philanthropy. Prosperity Indiana and its members serve vital roles within this triangle of change, and I am excited to help PI grow and build the capacity of its members.”
As Operations & Special Projects Manager, Reimschisel will maintain, evaluate and enhance day-to-day operational processes and organizational impact reporting. She will also support creation and expansion efforts of PI’s signature programs. With previous experience in management, classroom and individual instruction and advocacy, Reimschisel enjoys connecting organizations with resources that will multiply their impact.
Reimschisel said, “My background in higher education administration and years of community volunteerism combine to give me a profound appreciation for the work PI and our members do every day. I look forward to expanding our internal capacity and getting to know our members and partners better.”
Prosperity Indiana is excited to welcome Beason and Reimschisel as full-time “Pieces of the PI.”
The Indiana Association for Community Economic Development d/b/a Prosperity Indiana builds a better future for our communities by providing advocacy, leveraging resources and engaging an empowered network of members to create inclusive opportunities that build assets and improve lives. Since its founding in 1986, Prosperity Indiana has grown to nearly 200 members from the public, private and nonprofit sectors.
February 10, 2021
Prosperity Indiana and Indiana United Ways Release Shelter from the Storm
Today, Indiana United Ways and Prosperity Indiana are pleased to co-release Shelter from the Storm: How Avoiding a COVID-19 Eviction Crisis Helps All Hoosiers. This report is the result of a months-long roundtable of stakeholders from across the housing sector to address the public health and economic threats from pandemic-related housing instability. Participants included representatives from Indiana’s housing developers, multifamily and affordable housing providers, advocates from community economic development, antipoverty, homelessness and domestic violence prevention organizations, as well as representatives from the legal and public health sector and from Indiana’s courts, family services, and housing agencies.
Roundtable participants came together to discuss how COVID-19 housing instability affects public health and economic impacts for the state’s providers, residents, and communities. Experts from the Center for Business and Economic Research at Ball State, Fairbanks School of Public Health at IUPUI, and IU Public Policy Institute contributed presentations to help participants create recommendations for Indiana to take next steps. While resources, data, and presentations from the roundtable are reflected in the report, contributions do not imply organizational endorsement of any specific topics or involvement in next steps.
Throughout the roundtable, participants also contributed to a series of surveys that revealed a great deal of consensus about the threats of COVID-19 housing instability in Indiana, including:
While agreeing that more work needs to be done, roundtable participants coalesced on three broad recommendations for Indiana to take necessary next steps to avoid a COVID-19 housing stability crisis:
In addition to these broad recommendations, co-conveners Indiana United Ways and Prosperity Indiana believe the release of this report coincides with a critical opportunity for Indiana’s policymakers to take immediate steps to improve housing stability. The state of Indiana and several localities will soon receive $448 million in new federal emergency rental and utility assistance. Ensuring this new assistance reaches the residents, properties, and communities who need it most embodies the greatest areas of consensus among roundtable participants.
This report and recommendations are by no means the last word on COVID-19 evictions and housing instability in Indiana. Instead, the roundtable is intended to model the kind of robust policy conversation and guidance for Indiana’s policymakers to use to make immediate progress, even as additional discussions and work are needed.
Sincerely,
Jessica Love Maureen Noe
Executive Director President/CEO
Prosperity Indiana Indiana United Ways
About Indiana United Ways
Indiana United Ways is the state association for United Ways in Indiana that supports thriving United Ways through capacity building, shared services, and partnering. Visit iuw.org to learn more.
The Indiana Association for Community Economic Development d/b/a Prosperity Indiana builds a better future for our communities by providing advocacy, leveraging resources, and engaging an empowered network of members to create inclusive opportunities that build assets and improve lives. Since its founding in 1986, Prosperity Indiana has grown to nearly 200 organization and individual members, representing thousands of practitioners statewide from the public, private, and nonprofit sectors.
February 2, 2021
Contact: Natalie James | (317) 222-1221 x406 | njames@prosperityindiana.org
Prosperity Indiana selected as one of 8 new State Grantees to national Opportunity Starts at Home campaign
INDIANAPOLIS – Prosperity Indiana is pleased to announce that it has been selected to join a cohort of eight state-based organizations each to receive a $50,000 grant for the Opportunity Starts at Home (OSAH) national multisector affordable homes campaign. Prosperity Indiana will use the funding to expand the capacity of its ongoing OSAH activities and to diversify Indiana’s state housing coalition to include new partners from the health, civil rights, and economic opportunity sectors. These multi-sector partnerships will be leveraged to engage Indiana’s federal elected officials to enact policies which correct longstanding racial inequities and expand affordable housing for the nation’s lowest income people.
The grantees were selected through a highly competitive proposal process and will be formally recognized as state affiliates of the national campaign, as well as gain access to resources, multi-sector networks, and technical assistance from the national campaign. Each applicant demonstrated a strong commitment to advancing federal affordable housing solutions for the lowest income people, amplifying racial equity, and expanding partnerships to different sectors. In addition to Prosperity Indiana, the grantees are:
“Not only is it critical for Congress to hear from national advocates, but also from their own constituents in the states they represent,” said Mike Koprowski, National Director of the Opportunity Starts at Home campaign. “Prosperity Indiana will be a critical partner in helping the campaign achieve its goals. To be sure, the housing crisis cannot be solved without stronger federal action. And we are more likely to build the necessary political will in Congress when an array of sectors are standing shoulder-to-shoulder demanding solutions, rather than just housing advocates alone.”
In addition to this new cohort of grantees, the campaign also has previously established partnerships with Housing California, Maine Together, Housing and Community Development Network of New Jersey, Housing Network of Rhode Island, Coalition on Homelessness and Housing in Ohio, Oregon Housing Alliance, and Utah Housing Coalition.
“We are proud to join this cohort of leaders in affordable housing advocacy from across the country and thankful for the resources that will accompany this designation,” said Jessica Love, Executive Director of Prosperity Indiana. “The multi-sector strategy to engage our federal delegation embraced by Opportunity Starts at Home is a natural fit with the way we like to get things done in the Hoosier state. And so, as we move from COVID recovery to rebuilding, the timing seems right to start pulling together new partners to ensure increased options for housing stability are created for those who need it most.”
Follow Prosperity Indiana’s housing initiatives, including OSAH, through Housing4Hoosiers.org and on Twitter and Facebook. Follow the national Opportunity Starts at Home campaign on Twitter and sign up for its e-newsletter to get the latest updates about the campaign, including new partners, calls to action, events, and research.
December 23, 2020
Announcing Candidates for Prosperity Indiana’s 2021 Summit Awards!
INDIANAPOLIS – Top community development leaders and programs across Indiana have been nominated for the prestigious Prosperity Indiana Awards. Winners have not been named and will be announced at the annual Prosperity Indiana Summit on January 13-14, 2021. The Michael Carroll Community Economic Development Leadership Award, presented by First Financial Bank, distinguishes an individual who has exhibited exceptional advocacy to further support the community economic development industry.
Joe Bowling, Englewood Community Development Corporation
Timothy Eckerle, Grant County Economic Growth Council
Jennifer Layton, LTHC Homeless Services
Austin Maxheimer, Community One
Annette Phillips, PathStone Corporation
Anthony Bridgeman, PNC Bank
Serita Cabell, Memorial Community Development Corporation
Courtney Goodwyn, Mapleton-Fall Creek Development Corporation
Eric Ogle, Office of Community and Rural Affairs
Travis Richards, Jay County Community Development Corporation
Emily Scott, Local Initiatives Support Corporation
Digital Ready Businesses Program, Purdue Center for Regional Development and Purdue Extension Community Development
The Excel Center, Goodwill of Central and Southern Indiana
Homelessness and Housing Resource Team, Adult & Child Health
Kendallville Restorations, Inc.
LTHC Homeless Services
Maggie Bag Project, Stability First
Project Home Indy
Second Helpings
Alex Cornwell, The Waynedale News
Charyl Luth, Affordable Housing Association of Indiana
September McConnell, Community Foundation of Whitley County, Inc.
Are you interested in understanding just how eviction is affecting your local community? Have you or anyone you know ever been evicted? Are you looking for ways to engage with your community about eviction and also learn more in the process?
Researchers find 248,000-313,000 Hoosier households are at risk of eviction due to COVID-19. Another recent study estimates 150,000 evictions will be filed by January 2021 and $376,000,000 - $485,000,000 will be lost in rent shortfall in Indiana, unless policy solutions are implemented. Watch the Eviction Lab’s ‘Why Eviction Matters’ video here.
Sign up for our free 'Evicted in Indiana' Reading Guide and Webinar Series for your community organization! Join the Hoosier Housing Needs Coalition for three webinars tying topics from Matthew Desmond’s book Evicted to current housing stability issues in Indiana and how to avoid a COVID-19 eviction crisis.
Click here to receive the Hoosier Housing Needs Coalition’s Evicted reading guide. This guide is designed for individuals and organizations who want to learn more about housing stability issues. Read by yourself or lead your own book club. Check your local library or major retailer for a copy of Evicted.
By using the reading guide and participating in the webinar series, you will gain an understanding of the factors behind evictions, the personal and community impact of housing instability, and the risk of a COVID-19 eviction crisis.
For additional questions, contact Natalie James, Coalition Builder.
Donate
Subscribe
