A pivotal element of HYJP is the Program Manager, Ben Hayes. Unlike the two attorneys who work cases for Outreach’s youth, Ben’s position is more nebulous. His job is to build relationships and to create a bridge between their kids and our attorneys. Most of the youth that go through Outreach know what it’s like to be burned by someone they were supposed to be able to trust—in fact, that is usually an inciting incident to them becoming homeless in the first place. “Every one of them is going to have a different story,” Ben says. The one thing they all have in common though? Trauma. According to a series of internal surveys conducted by Outreach in 2014, 71% of their young woman said they were sexually abused before the age of 18 and 88% of their young men saw their mother beaten before the age of 18.

Part 3 looks to the future of Indianapolis--where are we headed as a city in terms of providing services to those experiencing homelessness? Where do we hope to be? What will it take to make that vision a reality and what are the potential pitfalls?

Part 2 takes a deeper look at the services available to those experiencing homelessness, and highlights the importance of building trust and lasting relationships in order to be effective.