Indianapolis, IN

Indy community leaders urge mayor to address homelessness crisis

Published

11 months ago

January 30, 2025

Indy community leaders urge mayor to address homelessness crisis

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Indianapolis church leaders and community advocates are banning together to write a formal letter to Mayor Joe Hogsett asking him to help them solve the city’s homelessness crisis.

John Miller, of Indianapolis, found shelter just three days ago — after 13 months of waiting.

“It’s been pretty long and hard,” Miller said. “I mean, everybody’s trying to help you, but they got their own long wait list of their own.”

The list is long, and the wait can be deadly. Just a few months ago, Miller’s friend froze to death while waiting for housing.

The city estimates there are about 1,700 people experiencing homelessness in Indianapolis, and many more are on the Indianapolis Housing Agency’s section 8 waitlist.

“It currently has over 8,000 people waiting for housing, which means if you can qualify for public housing assistance, you would, and will be homeless without someone to help you,” community advocate Wildstyle Paschall said.

Paschall gathered earlier this month with at least 50 other community members looking to solve the issue, including Purpose of Life Ministries Senior Pastor Rev. David Greene, Sr.

The group says the problem can be fixed with funds through city government, along with corporate and philanthropic partnerships — all things they believe can only be brought together by Hogsett. The group chose to write a formal letter to the mayor.

“It was unanimously determined that only Mayor Hogsett has the ability to raise the necessary
resources to solve homelessness in Indy and the community must raise their voices and hold
him accountable,” the letter says.

Paschall says they are asking for a detailed plan with benchmarks to lower homelessness in the area. The group says they are aware of the IHA’s recent hiring of a new director, but feel she needs the support of the mayor to make change.

“We’re helping with that, we’ve got numbers that we would love to talk to the mayor and his people about,” Paschall said. “There are people in this city and organizations that want to help, and really it’s going to take the mayor to go bring everybody together to get the resources so that we can fix public housing.”

To help tackle the issue, Hogsett formed the 17-member Mayor’s Leadership Council on Homelessness last fall. The council also includes a “homelessness czar.” The members represent varying areas in the city, including philanthropic and business sectors.

“On October 1, 2024, the Greater Indianapolis Progress Committee (GIPC) convened the first meeting of the Mayor’s Leadership Council on Homelessness (MLCH) at my request,” a spokesperson for the mayor said in response to the letter. “This group represents passionate leadership from Indianapolis’ civic, philanthropic, corporate, and healthcare sectors. I, along with each member of the Leadership Council, is unified by the same mission: to end chronic, street homelessness in Indianapolis and to reduce racial disparities for those experiencing homelessness. The MLCH is tasked with finding solutions to achieve that goal, which includes activating human and financial resources, removing barriers to implementation, as well as leveraging each member’s sphere of influence to enact meaningful change. We have laid the groundwork for change with the MLCH and are pivoting to stakeholder engagement and action that results in demonstrable impact in the lives of our unhoused neighbors. Whether it is through the new master leasing program or the ongoing work to add even more permanent supportive housing units, the City remains focused on utilizing its resources and community partnerships to support our unhoused neighbors.”

Greene is on the council, but wants more to be done.

“We have to stand up,” Greene said. “That’s what the Bible commands of us, what God expects of us, and so to see people suffer in a country as rich as ours and the state. We’re able to do other things, clearly. Why aren’t we able to do more to solve the homeless problem here in Indianapolis?”

Miller tells me he believes any support from local leaders will lead to him staying off the streets, and making sure his friends do too.

For a full copy of the letter, click below.

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Indianapolis, IN

Silver Alert declared for 16-year-old boy missing from Indianapolis

Published

4 hours ago

December 18, 2025

Press Room

Silver Alert declared for 16-year-old boy missing from Indianapolis

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — The Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department is investigating the disappearance of Robert Williams Jr., a 16-year-old Black male who is 5 feet 9 inches tall, weighs 185 pounds, has black hair with brown eyes, and was last seen wearing a gray coat, blue sweat pants, and black tennis shoes.

Williams Jr. is missing from Indianapolis, and was last seen on Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2025. He is believed to be in extreme danger and may require medical assistance.

Investigators ask that anyone with information on Williams Jr. contact the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department at 317-327-6541 or 911.

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Indianapolis, IN

The City of Indianapolis’ “Indy Peace Fellowship” 2025 review

Published

16 hours ago

December 18, 2025

Press Room

The City of Indianapolis’ “Indy Peace Fellowship” 2025 review

INDIANAPOLIS — The Indy Peace Fellowship is an initiative from the city, providing solutions to reduce gun violence in our city.

WRTV spoke with Dane Nutty, President & CEO of the Indy Public Safety Foundation, about its efforts in 2025 and continued targets ahead for 2026.

“A lot of times, you have an idea of what the community wants, you have an idea of what people need, and so, we certainly have a significant engagement with the community daily,” Nutty said.

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The City of Indianapolis’ “Indy Peace Fellowship” 2025 review

Finding solutions to gun violence has been one of the city’s biggest hurdles.

“This year that we’re looking at annual data, we’re over 20% reduction in criminal homicides and nearly 30% reduction in non-fatal shootings, but again, I think it’s a testament to the investments that have been made over the last three to five years and really lifting not only targeted intervention but also community voices in violence intervention,” Nutty said.

Nutty said that the relationships built with the community, IMPD and organizations throughout the years helped foster greater results in 2025.

“I think after the first couple of years, you know, when you launch a really huge new strategy, it takes a little time to kind of cement those partnerships and ensure that we’re being most effective and intentional with our work, and we’ve really seen that come into play this year,” Nutty said.

Looking ahead to 2026, Nutty said his team will continue to review data daily to help cultivate the best outcome.

“We might have an incident in the community that results in either the potential for retaliation or, you know, some additional trauma that that neighborhood or that community has incurred,” Nutty said.

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Indy Peace Fellowship

Every year, Indy Peace Fellowship’s goal is to reduce homicides by 10%.

“As of today, we’re down over 20% in criminal homicides year to date, so we’re certainly, again. We’re happy that we met that goal. That doesn’t mean that the work has completed, right? That we can just say, ‘Hey, we’ve done it all, we’ve fixed the problem.’ There’s a lot of work to move forward,” Nutty said.

Nutty added that they are seeing nearly a 30% reduction year-over-year in non-fatal shootings. Further proving that community outreach and targeted impact are working.

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Indianapolis, IN

IMPD officer charged with operating vehicle while intoxicated after showing up to work smelling of alcohol

Published

1 day ago

December 17, 2025

Press Room

IMPD officer charged with operating vehicle while intoxicated after showing up to work smelling of alcohol

INDIANAPOLIS — An officer with the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department has been charged with operating a vehicle while intoxicated (OVWI).

According to a news release from IMPD, Bryan Gibson, an officer with the department, arrived at the department’s southeast district in his personal vehicle on the evening of Dec. 10 for a scheduled administrative duty shift.

When Gibson arrived, the department alleges that Gibson smelled like alcohol. After an investigation from the department’s OVWI unit, the special investigations unit and internal affairs, the release said that Gibson was determined to be under the influence of alcohol.

On Dec. 11, IMPD Chief Chris Bailey suspended Gibson without pay and recommended his termination to the department’s civilian police merit board.

The release said that at the time of the incident, Gibson was assigned to administrative duty. Officials said that Gibson did not have police powers while under administrative investigation for an unrelated personnel matter.

On Wednesday, the Marion County Prosecutor’s Office officially filed charges against Gibson for: