Wheeler Mission

We desire to see every man, woman, and child we serve equipped to be productive citizens who enjoy lasting success in Christ. Initially, we aim to make sure the immediate needs of every guest are met through:
- Food
- Shelter
- Clothing
- Access to medical care
- Access to case management

For those who choose to remain for long-term, residential care, our holistic programs are designed to equip guests to leave Wheeler Mission as stable, self-sufficient, and productive individuals. Our goal is to have each man and woman leave Wheeler Mission:
- Sober
- Housed
- Employed (if appropriate)
- Connected to a community (family, friends, church) supportive of their continued progress

To assist guests needing short-term, emergency care, Wheeler Mission provides:
- Winter Contingency overflow for the cities of Indianapolis and Bloomington
- Nutritious meals for breakfast, lunch, dinner
- Hot Showers
- Safe sleeping quarters with clean beds daily
- Chapel services
- Professional case management
- Medical assistance (from collaborating providers working on site at Wheeler Mission)

For those who've elected to continue in Wheeler's long-term, comprehensive, residential programming, Wheeler Mission prepares individuals for stable, independent living through:
- Life-skills classes (ranging from personal care to personal finance)
- Professional case management
- Dynamic children's programming (licensed childcare services)
- Adult education
- Social enterprise
- Work therapy
- Bible study and discipleship
- Referrals to collaborating agencies (both onsite and offsite)
- Group and individual counseling
- Mentorship
- Church engagement
- Aftercare

To continue effectively serving the Indianapolis and Bloomington communities and breaking the cycle of homelessness and poverty, Wheeler Mission:
- Continues to collaborate, and maintain dialogue, with community agencies and institutions serving our guests, and the population served.
- Upgrades and/or expands facilities to ensure we are meeting the growing demand for our programs and services in the communities we serve. Recently expanded the Center for Women & Children in Indianapolis, almost tripling capacity to meet the growing demand for services among women experiencing homelessness. Additionally, expansion is also taking place in Bloomington and at the Shelter for Men in Indianapolis - all of which is aimed at meeting the growing demand for shelter and services in these communities as well as ensuring each individual in need has access to the supports and resources needed to stabilize in a time of personal crisis.
- Invests in staff and volunteers, thus providing the training, education, and (in the case of staff) compensation needed to maintain the highest quality service delivery while meeting the many needs of our guests.

Wheeler Mission has a strong 128 year history. Since its founding, Wheeler Mission has expanded to 9 locations throughout Indianapolis and Bloomington, making it the oldest, largest, and most diverse homeless services provider of its kind in the state of Indiana.

Wheeler Mission's programs were analyzed as a part of a national study conducted by Baylor University's Institute for Religious Studies. Their findings showed that over a three-year period, Wheeler Mission's programs save Indianapolis taxpayers $3,015,660. Wheeler's successful addiction recovery programs for men offset $1,050,602 in costs related to addiction -- such as hospital visits, incarceration, and crime. Wheeler's addiction recovery programs for women save the community an additional $82,120, due to the reduction of foster care subsidies and related child protective service costs. Furthermore, program graduates obtain employment, thereby adding tax revenue gains of $1,882,938.

Regarding addiction recovery, Wheeler Mission remains focused on propelling men and women struggling with addiction into long-term and permanent sobriety. Due to the complexity of addiction, Wheeler has designed its recovery programs to stretch beyond the traditional 30-day program, thus positioning participants for long-term success. In fact, most of the long-term addiction recovery programming at Wheeler Mission requires a commitment of anywhere from 6 months to 9 months. Furthermore, Wheeler carriers out all programming at no cost to the city, tax payers or participants, thus making lasting recovery available to a wider group.

Since 2010, family programming at Wheeler's Center for Women & Children in Indianapolis (CWC) has been running at capacity. Space and capacity issues are not unique to Wheeler Mission, as every other agency serving women and children in Indianapolis also remains full. To meet the growing and alarming need for services for women and children, Wheeler Mission expanded its Center for Women & Children, which resulted in:
- More than double capacity for services and programs
- Additional staff
- Opportunity for greater collaboration with other community agencies
- Heightened security
- More intentional utilization of facility space available (women with children participating in programming in one space while single women, struggling with addiction can be served in another space, etc.)