Partnership aims to address affordable housing in Greencastle

The partnership aims to bring a six unit housing property that will address the lack of affordable housing in Greencastle.

Thanks to efforts from Beyond Homeless Inc., the City of Greencastle and the Fuller Center for Housing, affordable housing could be on its way to Greencastle very soon. 

The partnership aims to bring a six unit housing property that will address the lack of affordable housing in Greencastle. According to Lea Durbin, executive director of Beyond Homeless, the apartments will be less than $1,000 per month and will provide a housing opportunity to individuals who work, but cannot obtain a lease and for shelter residents looking to be on their own. 

"Indiana ranks 34th in affordable housing," Durbin told GIANT fm WREB and The Putnam County Post. 

The partnership comes from a desire to bring about real change when it comes to both affordable housing and homelessness, according to Durbin. 

"We need a community that comes together and says we need a bigger building. We need a building for whole families. I am working with the mayor on an initiative. Every single time people get together and get in a room, everyone has the best intentions and it is wonderful but it is how do we go from intent to vision and get that vision moving forward. I am hoping this initiative can bring that vision to life. It is going to take money and time. It is getting cold and people are sleeping in their cars, parks and we have nowhere to put them and that makes my heart hurt," she said. 

Durbin said she, Greencastle Mayor Lynda Dunbar and David English of the Fuller Center have been meeting routinely to find solutions to issues facing single men in need of housing and people who cannot get a lease due to a variety of reasons. 

"We talked about what could we do to bring a men's shelter into town and get that up and running. The more we dug into it and researched, we realized we had more families living in our local motels that have families and work, but they just cannot get a lease. We pivoted a little bit and instead of focusing on building a men's shelter, we want to build a six unit transitional apartment building. Fuller will be responsible for the construction. I will do the case management and assessments, and it is also aimed at helping our ladies in the shelter not sit in the shelter for a year when they are ready to go. It is a joint community effort," Durbin said. 

As more details become available, Durbin said they will be shared with residents. 

"It is time to come out and say this is what we are going to do," Durbin said. 

Affordable housing is a huge issue in Putnam County, according to Durbin.

In 2023, Beyond Homeless Inc. assisted 57 families with utility and rental assistance to the tune of almost $23,000 Durbin said. 

"It has gone up and continues to go up. Last year, the average request for rent assistance was $650 and the three on my desk right now, one is for $2,400 and one is for $1,800. They are struggling and just cannot seem to get ahead. Wages are not going up," said Durbin, who added Putnam County's average starting wage is $14.93. "If you made minimum wage, $7.25 an hour, you would have to work 122 hours a week to afford a minimum rent apartment and that is a lot and heartbreaking."

Durbin said housing issues and homelessness are "human issues."

"I have had 455 requests for shelter this year and I have 24 beds. Shelters across the state are in the same boat. Last month alone, I had 52 inquiries for shelter. Out of that, 15 were women with children, nine were outside service agency involvement, 20 were from our region. It is here and it is local. This is not people from northern Indiana or Chicago calling me for shelter. It is right here, it is real and it is what we are dealing with every single day," Durbin said, adding she had to turn away 40 families because she could not help them in 2023. 

And, she said it is time to have hard conversations regarding both issues. 

"Whether we are ready or not, they have to happen. I go home every day in tears because I can't help everybody. When you get a phone call from a woman who is desperate because she has children and she's trying to keep her children because if you are a woman and on the streets with children, you can lose your children. These women don't need to lose their children, they need safe shelter. We are at capacity at the shelter. I have more children in the shelter than I ever have and they are ages newborn to 17. Our needs inside the shelter are growing, as well," Durbin said.