Diversion
What is Diversion?
Our Diversion team works directly with families and the Continuum of Care to provide diversion and housing problem solving strategies to increase rapid-exit solutions. The Team focuses on improving system flow for families on the doorstep of homelessness and who are currently experiencing literal homelessness. They have created a coordinated, front-door to the homelessness services system for families experiencing a housing crisis and imminently in need of shelter, including researching best-practices to coordinate work in partnership with shelter staff, problem-solve with families in crisis to help them avoid the system all together or rapidly exit as quickly as possible.
Desired Outcomes
Providing diversion and housing problem solving will allow us to:
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Optimize the relationship with external street outreach organizations to assist in the creation of a family referral
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Utilize collective impact concepts to operationalize family services
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Coordinate with eviction prevention programs for problem-solving training.
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Link families to Direct-Services through entry-point Housing Problem Solving and housing stability planning by phone for referred families needing connection to the system.
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Focus on unclogging the shelter system by highlighting opportunities to increase flow in shelter through the Coordinated Entry System
What is Housing Problem Solving?
HPS is a crisis response strategy that is widely recognized as a promising practice. It uses a person-centered approach, providing:
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Rapid triaging and intervention,
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a focus on personal safety as a priority
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de-escalation of a person’s emotional reaction to help them focus on next steps, and
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definitive action steps the individual can successfully achieve.
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The strategy helps clients return to a position of control over their own problem-solving and prevents literal homelessness by helping them identify immediate alternate housing arrangement or mediating with landlords, family, or friends to negotiate longer stays in current housing arrangements.
If necessary and available, households are connected to supportive services and flexible financial assistance to support a return to stable housing. Housing Problem Solving encourages creative and cost-effective solutions outside of the crisis response system before more costly and long-term interventions are necessary – like Emergency Department, criminal justice, and shelter responses.
Our Programs
Day 1 Family Fund
The Day 1 Family Fund through the Bezos Foundation provides flexible funding to support housing crisis solutions and can provide families experiencing housing instability with fast and simple access to funds so they can secure a safe and stable place to live.
Eligibility Requirements:
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Household MUST reside in Marion County
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The household must have at least one minor child under 18 years old.
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The household seeking assistance may be either literally homeless or at imminent risk of homelessness, meaning they are at risk of literally homelessness within 14 days.
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Head of Household (HH) income must be under 50% of the AMI. HH will be asked to provide proof of income (2 most recent paystubs, benefit letter, or other income documentation).
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How to Connect to Day 1: Please fill out the JotForm below and a Diversion Specialist will reach out to the family to provide an initial Housing Problem Solving conversation within 3 days of the referral.
RDOOR will enroll eligible clients as capacity allows.
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Program Documents
How to connect a family?
Below is the JotForm link to refer families with children who may be experiencing a housing crisis or housing insecurity and who are interested in a housing problem solving conversation with the RDOOR HomeNow Indy Diversion team. Families can also self-refer by filling out the form themselves. Problem-solving will help to identify housing barriers, possible solutions, and resources to support stability.
If you are unsure if a family would be a good fit for program enrollment or believe the family needs help connecting to resources in the homelessness services system, we recommend filling out the JotForm and a HomeNow Diversion team member will provide a housing problem solving conversation with the family. Referring a family and providing a housing problem solving conversation does not guarantee financial assistance or enrollment in HomeNow Diversion programming, but it may identify important next steps to work toward housing stability or important information about how families secure shelter when needed.