Known for trying to reach people who had fallen through the cracks with other homeless care providers, Michiana Five for the Homeless has shut its doors due to a lack of funding.
The nonprofit was founded on the idea that if everyone gave just $5 to help those less fortunate, it would lead to a world of good.
However after operating in Michiana since 2014, the nonprofit is shutting down due to financial shortfalls.
The organization will be missed among the network of service providers in St. Joseph County as Michiana Five was known for reaching out to those who had fallen through the proverbial cracks in the system.
As the group’s director Debra Applegate explains, many other homeless shelters, like the Center for the Homeless in South Bend, require residents to abstain from using drugs or alcohol. Some shelters bar people with certain criminal convictions or have other rules about pets or behavior codes that people with severe mental illnesses can’t follow. Sometimes homeless individuals are new to the area and don’t know where to go or simply don’t want to go to a shelter.
“We were different in that we drove around to where the people were,” Applegate said. “Many of the people that we helped, for one reason or another, can’t or won’t go to traditional services.”
Applegate said it’s core to Michiana Five’s mission that they provide care to everyone they can. Applegate and a few dedicated volunteers could be found passing out food, blankets and information to people living in tent encampments or in alleyways.
The group lost its storefront on Miami Street and so the past couple of years have seen the group try to coordinate outreach from storage units or even Applegate’s spare bedroom. Applegate said she’s in the process of giving away what supplies they have left to other homeless nonprofits.
Michiana Five was started by longtime Nappanee resident John Shafer in 2012 when he took a trip to Chicago and decided to buy blankets for a number of people sleeping on the street. A former newspaper reporter, Applegate was moved by Shafer’s comments at a neighborhood meeting and joined the cause in 2014. She then became director when Shafer moved away a few years later.
Now Michiana Five’s absence will be felt in the community. Carl Hetler, who’s the homelessness coordinator for South Bend, said and that he’ll work with other community organizations to reach the same population.
"They have remained committed to helping people who are in need and those who don't have housing and have a lot of distrust in the system," said Hetler. "They'll willing to go gout and work with people. And they've been a great partner in helping us ... be aware of what the needs are of our residents."
Even in the face of new investments by the city, which include $1 million for a revamped weather amnesty hub housed at the Center for the Homeless, the number of homeless is likely rising.
Though quantifying homelessness is a difficult task, a survey mandated by the Department of Housing and Urban Development found that on a certain night in January of last year, 551 people were homeless in St. Joseph County. That same survey will be conducted later this month and Hetler expects the numbers of people found sleeping in cars, tents or on the streets will look similar if not a little higher.
Hetler said Oaklawn’s mobile crisis teams and a crisis unit in the St. Joseph County Police Department will continue official outreach efforts to those Michiana Five might have served in the past. The new behavioral crisis center, a partnership between Oaklawn and South Bend, is also set to open later this month.
Though Michiana Five is shutting down, Applegate is continuing homeless advocacy, helping organize for the upcoming survey among other things. And she hopes that people recognize the need for outreach beyond traditional homeless shelters.
“There’s more need now for our types of service — which was distinct from other types of service,” Applegate said. “There’s more need now for what we were doing than ever before.”
