UPDATE (May 15, 2026):
FORT WAYNE, Ind. (ADAMS) – Last year, the City of Fort Wayne’s Office of Housing & Neighborhood Services announced the idea and hopes for a new Homeless Services Center, which would provide services not currently offered in Allen County.
The vision of the Homeless Services Center is to offer comprehensive, low-barrier services for people experiencing homelessness that address immediate needs and pathways to permanent housing. Two specific programs are planned.
Some have expressed concerns about the new facility. On Thursday, the City released statements of support for the proposed homeless resource center.
The facility would act as a 24/7 front door to services for families and individuals facing homelessness. As staff have presented plans for the center, they have collected statements of support from businesses and organizations located downtown. Those statements are below and can also be found HERE
Addressing homelessness and the need for affordable housing is a priority for Mayor Sharon Tucker. For more than a year, the Mayor has been listening to local businesses, property owners, nonprofit leaders, law enforcement, residents and elected officials – everyone has been clear that steps need to be taken to address homelessness, particularly downtown. Establishment of a homeless resource center is central to the Mayor’s work to find compassionate solutions to the complex issue of homelessness.
Statements of support
Alive Community Outreach, Rev. Angelo Mante, Executive Director
My name is Angelo Mante. I serve as an appointed pastor at First Wayne Street United Methodist Church and as Executive Director of Alive Community Outreach, the nonprofit that occupies the church’s south wing. I am writing in support of the proposed 24/7, low-barrier homeless resource center at 333 E. Washington Boulevard. Our building sits directly north of that property. We share an alley with it.
A lot of voices are weighing in on this proposal, and rightly so. Pastor Jason Morris has offered a strong theological case on behalf of First Wayne Street, and I stand with every word. Our neighbors in business have raised real concerns about foot traffic, revenue, and the future of downtown commerce. I take those concerns seriously. As someone running an organization on this block, I share the hope behind them: a downtown that is safe, welcoming, and full of life.
I want to speak from where I sit. Alive Community Outreach is a youth-serving nonprofit with twelve staff and a thirteenth on the way. In a few weeks, our sixth Peacemaker Academy will bring more than seventy high school students in and out of our doors every day for three weeks. Year-round, we serve youth, survivors of violence, and learners from teenagers to elders. We manage budgets, payroll, programming, and a building full of people we are responsible for every single day.
We chose this location intentionally. We wanted to be downtown, at the heart of the community we serve, and we have a long-term commitment to this district. That commitment is exactly why I want to speak plainly about what we have witnessed.
For six years, we have witnessed up close what is happening on the streets around us. People have set up camp behind our bushes. We have literally had to step over people sleeping in our doorway to get into our own building. Just the other day, I took water outside to a man coughing so hard it sounded like he was dying. This is not a rare moment. There is constant need all around us. Our staff have also witnessed conflicts and drug use outside our windows, and some encounters have left our team and the people we serve shaken. These are not stories about dangerous people. They are stories about human beings in crisis, without shelter, without support, in plain view of a city that has not yet built what they need.
That is the real safety issue. The Rescue Mission does important work, but no single organization can meet every kind of need — and the neighbors who fall outside what the Mission can offer will continue to land on the blocks around it, including ours, regardless of where a new resource center is located.
A 24/7, low-barrier facility with structured supervision and real coordination with community partners gives our unhoused neighbors somewhere to actually go. Somewhere staffed around the clock. Somewhere that can connect a person in crisis to the right services at the moment they are ready to receive them. That is not a threat to this block. That is what good public safety looks like — addressing a problem directly rather than pushing it down the street.
Make no mistake: if I believed this resource center would make our block less safe, I would be the first one opposing it. As it stands, I believe it will turn an unmanaged situation into a coordinated one, and that is good for everyone — for the people the center will serve, for our staff, for our business neighbors, and for the future of downtown.
We are for this. And we are ready to work with the city, with the Rescue Mission, with our business neighbors, and with everyone on this block to make sure it is implemented well. Done right, a resource center strengthens the entire district — including the businesses and institutions that have invested in it.
A bottle of water was the best I had to offer the man in our alley that morning. I would love for our block to offer the next person more than that.
Barrett Realty
We would like to recognize Ft. Wayne’s initiative to address the increasing homelessness challenges impacting the Downtown area. Hundreds of municipalities across the Country are struggling with this complex and multifaceted issue. It will require careful consideration and strategic planning to balance the many and sometimes competing priorities over the coming years. We look forward to seeing the City’s progress in dealing with this issue while maintaining the forward momentum toward a vibrant and exciting downtown area for all the people of Ft. Wayne.
Elevatus Architecture
Homelessness is one of the most visible and complex challenges facing communities across the country, including Fort Wayne. Elevatus is proud to partner with the City of Fort Wayne to help address this challenge through the thoughtful design of a low-barrier shelter that prioritizes safety, dignity, access to services, and pathways toward stability. Our team brings deep expertise in behavioral health, wellness, and secure environments, and we are applying that experience to create a facility that is safe, welcoming, and supportive for clients, staff, neighbors, and the broader community. We believe strong communities address complex challenges with compassion, accountability, and smart design, and that this project represents an important investment in both human dignity and the long-term health of our city.
First Wayne Street United Methodist Church, Jason Morris, lead pastor
This is a defining moment for Fort Wayne and we need to be honest about what’s at stake.
Right now, people in our community are suffering in plain sight. They are sleeping outside, being turned away from shelters, cycling through systems that were never designed to truly help them and too often, we’ve learned to look the other way. That is not just unfortunate. It is unacceptable.
Let’s be clear: the real crisis is not this facility. The real crisis is our willingness to tolerate human beings living and dying without dignity.
A 24/7, low-barrier resource center is not some extreme idea. It is the bare minimum of what compassion requires. If we find ourselves more concerned about inconvenience than we are about human life, then we have lost our moral compass.
As a church, we reject the idea that faith means staying comfortable while others suffer. That is not the way of Jesus. We are called to show up, to stand with those on the margins, and to build a community where no one is disposable.
So yes, there are concerns, but there is also a deeper question: who are we going to be?
This is our moment to choose courage over fear, compassion over apathy, and dignity over neglect. And we should not hesitate.
Fletcher Van Gilder Attorneys LLP
The law firm Fletcher Van Gilder LLP has been a proud building owner and business presence at 436 E Wayne Street since 2006. We support the City’s plan to purchase and renovate the building on the north side of Washington Blvd bounded by Lafayette and Barr Streets as a no-barrier facility to provide services to people who are temporarily without shelter. We believe such a facility, together with the 24/7 outreach and wraparound services, should be a welcome addition to downtown Fort Wayne. Together with other close-by social service organizations, the facility will be able to expand the good work that Downtown Fort Wayne has been doing to assist persons who are in need, and to support a healthy business environment. We applaud the City’s focus on this compassionate and practical work to improve Fort Wayne for all its residents.
Fort Wayne Police Department, Chief P.J. Smith
Public safety is vital to the well-being of our great community. The Fort Wayne Police Department stands ready to assist and be a partner in the efforts to bring a homeless resource center to downtown. We currently work with many homeless individuals on a daily basis and will continue to do so to help get them connected to needed services like the new center will provide. We believe this plan will improve the homelessness situation. We live in a safe city. Our officers work tirelessly each day to serve and protect, and residents and businesses can be assured that their safety is our top priority.
Model Group
The Model Group believes in finding lasting solutions for the city’s most vulnerable residents and are supportive of the City’s efforts to do so. We look forward to learning more about the plans for the Homeless Resource Center and how they can be implemented in a way that serves all stakeholders in downtown Fort Wayne.
Penny Drip
We regularly interact with people who are experiencing homelessness, but we have no good options for places they can seek shelter and services. We are happy to learn about the proposed low-barrier shelter and look forward to working with the operator to make it successful.
Surack Enterprises, Chuck Surack
Surack Enterprises is honored to be part of the revitalization of downtown Fort Wayne and our entire community for that matter. The investments we’ve made and will be making in the future highlight our belief in all that Fort Wayne is and can become.
With that said, Lisa and I also recognize that some individuals and families are experiencing challenging and difficult circumstances that need to be addressed in a thoughtful and caring manner. That’s why we fully support Mayor Sharon Tucker’s efforts to bring a homeless resource center to the heart of the community. The center will assist in efforts to bring stability and hope back to people who are suffering.
For our city to reach its full potential, it takes leadership and a willingness to make tough decisions for the betterment of the entire community. Lisa and I are committed to making a financial contribution toward the Homeless Resource Center plan that will help ensure this important endeavor gets across the finish line. We’re pleased and encouraged to see so many members of the public and several social service and nonprofit organizations come together to say this center is needed in Fort Wayne and want to be part of the solution.
ORIGINAL STORY:
FORT WAYNE, Ind. (ADAMS) – The City of Fort Wayne’s Office of Housing & Neighborhood Services is soliciting proposals from area nonprofits to operate a new Homeless Services Center, which will provide services not currently offered in Allen County.
The vision of the Homeless Services Center is to offer comprehensive, low-barrier services for people experiencing homelessness that address immediate needs and pathways to permanent housing. Two specific programs are planned.
“Our community doesn’t offer all the services needed to address the complex issue of homelessness, and there is no organization equipped to fill these gaps alone,” said Fort Wayne Mayor Sharon Tucker. “That’s why the City of Fort Wayne is stepping up to lead an innovative partnership of the public, nonprofit, and private sectors to offer results-oriented and compassionate services that prioritize safety and paths to permanent housing.”
The City released the following:
The first is a 24-hour-a-day, seven days a week low-barrier shelter that will serve primarily unsheltered men and women with access to food, showers, laundry facilities, phone service, secure storage for personal belongings and more. The second is safe parking, which will offer designated parking spaces for people living in their vehicles.
The location of the Homeless Services Center is undetermined, but City leaders are exploring options to purchase an existing building and renovate it to accommodate the center. Plans are for the City to own the facility and for a nonprofit partner to operate the services. There is no timeline for the purchase of a building but staff are actively researching possibilities. The request for proposals is being issued now in order to give area nonprofits sufficient time to prepare proposals so a potential operator can be identified at the same time a building is located and renovated.
All proposals should explain how operators will do the following:
Operate a shelter that removes barriers to entry such as sobriety, income or criminal history (within legal constraints) and avoids punitive bans when possible.
Enroll clients or update records in the coordinated entry assessment system so information can be shared with other service providers and accurate records can be used to monitor individual and system-wide progress.
Limit disturbances to surrounding neighborhoods.
Prioritize housing and development of a stability plan for all clients.
Ensure safety for clients, staff, volunteers and the community with clear security policies and protocols.
Funding for the purchase and renovation of a building is still undetermined but possible sources include federal housing dollars. Funding to support operations will need to come from a variety of sources, including public and private support. The full request for proposals can be viewed online HERE
The deadline to submit proposals is December 5 at 5 p.m. A technical assistance session that offers an opportunity for organizations to ask questions about submitting a proposal is scheduled for October 21 at 2 p.m. at Citizens Square, Suite 320. Questions about the RFP may be addressed to ohns@cityoffortwayne.org.
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