THE ASPIRE BLOG

“During the coldest months of the year, we wanted to make sure everybody could seek shelter,” says Aspire Senior Director of Social Care Kathleen Bowers. “Homelessness should not be a death sentence, and it could have been for a lot of folks if we didn’t have the shelter and warming center available.”

In collaboration with the City of Indianapolis, Aspire helped provide a lifesaving haven to the community’s most vulnerable community members, mollifying severe risks during the most precarious days of winter.

“The continued collaboration between the City of Indianapolis’ Office of Public Health and Safety (OPHS) and Aspire Indiana Health providing emergency shelter to Indianapolis’ unsheltered population has allowed us to continue perfecting this work,” says Andrew Merkley, Director of City of Indianapolis’ OPHS.

Two Facilities, One Priority

To meet the critical needs of our unhoused neighbors during the 2025-2026 season, the City of Indianapolis provided two low-barrier, life-saving winter contingency facilities: a shelter for families and single women, and a weather-activated warming center for single men and couples. 

The demand for emergency shelter quickly outpaced initial expectations. Family enrollment more than doubled, and the warming center was open for more days and nights than anyone predicted — ballooning on some nights to shelter 157 individuals, far exceeding the projected limit of 70.

“The fact that the City of Indianapolis stepped into this space has been great for our unhoused neighbors,” Bowers says. “They worked hard to leverage their resources to make sure that even when we were over 200% capacity, we could continue to bring people in and provide a warm and safe environment. We have a great partnership.”

Together, the two winter contingency facilities housed 831 unique individuals — 420 in the family shelter and 411 in the warming center. Of those, 231 individuals were children.

The operational success of this program in the face of such high demand relied on three key elements: maximizing direct funding for guest care and resources, implementing a flexible capacity approach so no one seeking safety was ever turned away, and staffing the facilities with a trauma-informed team primarily made up of Aspire members.

“Providing shelter is our number one priority,” Bowers says. “The next step is to break the cycle.”

More Than an Emergency Shelter

While immediate safety from the elements remained the first priority of the warming center and shelter, Aspire’s philosophy moved the experience beyond that of an emergency shelter. Leveraging Aspire’s internal network and community partnerships, Aspire provided as many services as possible for the duration of each individual’s stay, including:

• Housing Navigation: Hands-on support to help residents overcome leasing barriers, secure vital identification documents, complete rental applications, and connect directly with permanent, stable housing opportunities.
• Medical: Medical care provided on site via mobile clinics including MACY, Aspire’s mobile medical van.
• Behavioral Health/Crisis Support: Immediate on-site crisis intervention, mental health assessments, and counseling to support emotional stabilization and facilitate long-term therapeutic care.
• Social Impact Support: Connection with benefits counselors and employment community health workers.
• Substance Use Referrals: Residents were able to begin inpatient substance use disorder (SUD) treatment.
• Transportation Services: Residents were provided transportation to Aspire appointments through Aspire’s transportation team. They were also provided bus passes and Lyft rides to get back to the shelter, attend job interviews, go to appointments, etc.

Every one of the adult heads of households who stayed in the family shelter engaged with at least one of Aspire’s support systems; and approximately 25 percent of individuals in the warming center used Aspire services such as medical care, SUD treatment or long-term housing services.

“The most rewarding part of working at the winter contingency shelter is witnessing the transformation of our families,” says Aspire Manager of Social Impact Clairtosha Patterson. “Seeing individuals arrive at their lowest point and gradually redevelop their life skills, motivation, and the will to thrive is incredibly moving. While saying goodbye at the end of the season is the most challenging aspect of this role, seeing someone transition from crisis to stability makes the work worthwhile.”

Long-Term Housing Solutions

“Without the warming center and shelter, hundreds of our neighbors would have had nowhere else to go during the coldest months of the year — and tragically, a lot of them were children,” Bowers says. “I have no doubt that people would have died during the harsh winter had they not had this as an option.”

Everyone deserves to be safe, warm and treated with dignity. The winter contingency operations made that possible this past winter season. And while winter contingency is short-term survival, the goals of Aspire and the City of Indianapolis transcend survival, gravitating toward significant long-term solutions that break generational cycles of housing insecurity. 

“Year after year, Aspire’s team has flexibly operated various shelters assisting with intake, resource coordination, food service, laundry and more,” Merkley says. “A partnership like this has also allowed for a human-first approach to the City’s growing shelter operations, prioritizing safety and dignity for each person entering shelter.”

Aspire staff worked hard to provide support and resources to every individual that extended beyond their stay in either winter shelter facility. As a result, 123 residents, including 37 families, were able to transition into permanent housing.

“What I am most proud of is that we didn’t just stop at survival,” Bowers says. “By bringing medical care, mental health support and housing navigation directly to them, we proved that shelter is only the beginning. When you show people they are worthy of care, dignity and a permanent front door, you don’t just save a life for the night — you can change their trajectory forever.”