03-04-2025
Giving critical services needed today for a better tomorrow
EVANSVILLE, Ind (WEHT) – People that are experiencing homelessness or close to homelessness got the chance to get out of the rain and to gain accessibility to critical services at the Old National Events Plaza.
The ONEP was the location for the 2025 Homeless Connect of Southwest Indiana for people in need to talk to and receive immediate service across a wide range of topics.
Some services that were provided at the event included:
Employment & Education
Financial
Government Assistance
Veterans Services
Health Screenings
Housing
Legal and tax advice
Parenting resources
Re-entry (after leaving jail) services
Hospitality services, such as haircuts and foot care.
Lunch for guests, volunteers and service providers
Officials described near-homeless as those living in poverty, those without stable housing, those living paycheck to paycheck, those at high-risk of being without a home in the near/immediate future due to an inability to pay for costs.
Other examples of near homeless include job loss, domestic violence situations, medical problems and mental health issues.
Evansville City Councilman and Aurora Executive Director Zac Heronemus says the event is a 'testament to the community' and ensures Homeless Connect gets people the resources they need.
'I think this is just a glimpse of the caring nature of the community here in Evansville and southwestern Indiana,' he said. 'Homeless Connect opens a lot of doors and ideally gets folks connected where opportunities might not have been before. Thinking this event being an annual event is just the tip of the iceberg of the caring compassion nature of our community.'
Heronemus called the situation of Evansville's homeless situation a 'complex issue'.
'What we know here in the city of Evansville and southwestern Indiana is we have the highest per capita rate of homelessness in the state of Indiana,' he said. 'What does that mean? On any given night, we have 500 individuals that are either on the street or in our shelter system, but when we look at data over the past two years, approximately 2,800 unique individuals in 2023 and 2024 have either previously experienced homelessness or actively experiencing homelessness or have just stepped out of the homeless experience.
'2,000 unique individuals have been in our shelter system in 2023 and 2024. In between 2023 and 2024, over 1,500 left and we didn't see them again, so they were replaced by individuals and families that are either experiencing one day or 365 days of homelessness. It is a significant opportunity for the community and for us to convene together and improve people's lives and help ensure that folks don't dip into the homeless experience or when they are, we have the robust services available to address it.'
Heronemus explained further saying poverty is the biggest driver in Evansville and other communities across the country.
'People that are housing insecure, especially in the state of Indiana, where there are no tenants' rights laws, evictions play a big role,' he said. 'It's not what everybody thinks that it is on the surface level. It's not all mental health. It's not all substance use disorder. That is a small part of the reason why people experience homelessness in our community, but what I tell folks all the time is there's a myriad of reasons. Everything from health care needs that are unmet to people being catfished out of their money to being on that cusp of barely making ends meet and having difficult financial situations that spiral out of control. It's a myriad of reasons, but there's a myriad of pathways out of it.'
Despite it, Heronemus mentioned several positive moments that the event has had on individuals.
'In past years, we've seen reports of folks that came in here to get medical screenings and having emergency and acute medical responses taking place,' he said. 'We've seen folks have access to housing opportunities, folks gaining dignity back through the haircut services or the eyeglass services, a multitude of services being carried out today that improve people's lives, but more importantly, open up doors for greater improvement and upward mobility moving forward.'
Officials state this event has historically served more than 600 individuals and families.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
