Who We Are
We are a partnership of congregations and community organizations responding to the crisis of children and their families who are homeless. We work to eliminate homelessness in Greater Indianapolis.
In the late 1980s, a crisis of family homelessness was being discovered. And what made it worse? Most traditional shelters separated genders - some for women and little children, others for men and older boys - and families were split apart. In 1993, a pioneering woman came to St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Catholic Church in Carmel, IN on a Wednesday evening. Her name was Karen Olson. She had started the first Interfaith Hospitality Network (IHN) in Summit, New Jersey a few years prior.
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Only a dozen people attended her talk that evening. But one man--a member of Carmel United Methodist Church--heard her message with his heart, and saw possibility. Dr. Dean Lindsey had just retired from Elanco, and was discerning where to dedicate himself next. He spoke with Karen immediately after, and regularly over the next few months. He researched the local need; he found it to be vast. He formed an interfaith outreach group, with a key member named Pastor Brian Byrne from St. Peter's United Church of Christ. They together recruited other congregations. The Northside Indianapolis Interfaith Hospitality Network was born (later renamed omitting the word Northside).
History
It only takes one listening heart
In the late 1980s, a crisis of family homelessness was being discovered. And what made it worse? Most traditional shelters separated genders - some for women and little children, others for men and older boys - and families were split apart. In 1993, a pioneering woman came to St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Catholic Church in Carmel, IN on a Wednesday evening. Her name was Karen Olson. She had started the first Interfaith Hospitality Network (IHN) in Summit, New Jersey a few years prior.
Board
If you are interested in serving on the Board of Directors, why not start by serving on a board-level committee, like Resource Development, Awareness & Policy, Congregational Relationships, Program & Services, or helping with one of our two annual special events--Home Sweet Home (October) and the Night Without A Bed 400 (April)? Email toby@fpgi.org to get connected.
Partners
We bring together existing community resources to provide solutions for families experiencing homelessness. That means we don’t build shelters or duplicate other human service programs. This model of community-based solutions is cost-effective and inclusive, but it means we need a lot of partners!
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We’d love to work with you too. Please contact our Executive Director, Mike Chapuran, at 317-261-1562 to learn how you can help.