INDIANAPOLIS — A record number of young people experiencing homelessness are walking through the doors at Outreach's Near East Side Program Center — not just for food or clothing, but to find community, hope and a sense of belonging.
When you walk inside the doors of Outreach, you'll hear laughter. The people who work there and visit for assistance say it's a place where young people can build a community.
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"The people here are amazing," Benjamin Garber said.
Garber was honest about where he is in life and where he wants to be.
"I wanna have a job, kids, a wife. You know I want people that can look up to me and be a leader in the community, not this. Not waking up on concrete," Garber said.
After leaving home at 17 years old, Garber says he's been on the streets.
"I'm a felon, so it's hard to get a job, but hopefully with this high school diploma, come February, jobs are gonna open up. I had to go to school this morning to get my new schedule, and I just slept outside the school so I wouldn't be late," Garber said.
Outreach wasn't always located in the large building it's in now, off East New York Street. It's expanded over the years due to the need.
The organization started in the back of a car in Broad Ripple in 1996, serving sandwiches to youth staying under bridges in the area.
"I think the need is increasing because we are creating spaces for our youth and young adults, but where is the substance in that space? The substance is anything that makes a house a home, anything that makes a person that a citizen in a community feel like they have a sense of belonging," said Brettany Ervin, Director of Program Centers for Outreach.
Outreach serves young people ages 14 to 24 who are experiencing homelessness. They don't provide emergency shelter, but they do help with food assistance, laundry, hygiene products and more.
In 2024, Outreach served more than 1,000 young people and provided nearly 7,500 meals.
"If you need a Social Security card, I didn't think they could do that. They got me a Social Security card that week, and then showers. I didn't think places would do that," Garber said.
The goal is to help the youth they serve get their basic needs met, and also give them the tools they need to get a job and eventually a place to call home.
"We offer programs here during our drop-in center hours that can assist youth with financial literacy and life skills, home maintenance, and things like that, but we don't make the youth participate in those programs. We strongly suggest that they do, especially if a youth has come here on more than one occasion needing the same thing," Ervin said.
After four years of turning to Outreach for help, Garber hopes there will be a day when he doesn't need to walk through these doors.
"I want people to look up to me... you got to put your head down and keep going," Garber said.
When WRTV asked Outreach what they attribute their growth to, a spokesperson said it's due to becoming a trusted source and safe space for youth.
So far in 2025, Outreach has already helped more than 950 youth in the community.
