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November 2020
Located in Indianapolis, the Wheeler Mission Center for Women and Children currently has around 80 beds, but the building is undergoing construction in order to expand to 100 beds. Photo by Lily Thomas.
Lending a helping hand Organizations, clubs provide volunteer oppurtunites to assist homeless Lily Thomas thomalil000@hsestudents.org
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n any given day, 5,471 people experience homelessness in Indiana, as reported by Continuums of Care to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development in January 2019. Marion County alone accounts for 1,567 of those people, according to the Wheeler Mission website. The causes of homelessness varies, but according to the National Alliance to End Homelessness, common causes include a lack of financial stability, escaping domestic violence and systemic inequality. Wheeler Mission With three locations in Indianapolis, the Wheeler Mission provides basic necessities and shelter to the poor and homeless populations of central Indiana. They are also religiously affiliated with non-denominational Christianity, and work with multiple local churches that share their concerns on poverty and homelessness. “We say the word homeless and we think that everybody’s story is exactly the same,” Volunteer Engagement Manager for Women’s Services Tammy Caldwell said. “We know that everyone is different and everyone has different needs when they come to Wheeler. Our goal is to meet them where they’re at and so we listen and try to meet the needs that they have.” On average, the Wheeler Mission feeds about 1,000 people, according to Caldwell. For Thanksgiving, Wheeler offers dinner and has a meal prep week that volunteers can partake before Thanksgiving. Caldwell mentioned that this year, Wheeler is asking previous volunteers to come back and serve during the holidays and onwards. “If you want to have a meaningful impact on someone’s life, you have to be in their life,” Caldwell said. “So just to show up once, it’s not going to be that meaningful for the guest, but if you want it to be meaningful for them then you need to become a regular [volunteer].”
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1. A welcome sign posted at the entrance of the Wheeler Mission Center for Women and Children. The sign mentions their ties to Christianity. 2. The Wheeler Mission has shelves of boxes that include donated items such as menstrual products, Kleenex, makeup and more. Photos by Lily Thomas.
