It’s simple enough to go online and find data about how Indianapolis is struggling with food insecurity, wealth inequality, transportation and any number of issues.
A lot of that data is reliable, certainly not faulty, but most of it is an aggregate view of what’s going on.
Needs and concerns in the 46218 zip code can differ from those in 46222, just as they can differ from one street to the next, one house to the next.
Shane Shepherd, founder of B4U Fall, wants to get a clear picture of how communities are handling the COVID-19 pandemic on a house-by-house basis. He and a team of volunteers began surveying households across Indianapolis on March 23, and they’ve since been to at least 19 zip codes.
At the time of the interview, Shepherd said they had received about 1,800 responses. Surveys include questions about food access, food allergies and access to transportation, as well as voter registration and the 2020 census.
Neighbors Helping Neighbors
“We want to ask the little guy, ‘What do you need?’ so the big guy doesn’t just assume to know,” he said.
Shepherd, 41, said he isn’t fond of the “bigger outfits” — though his organization did recently receive $75,000 from United Way of Central Indiana’s Social Innovation Fund to create school curriculum for students on the near west side.
But that’s still an example of an organization with more resources giving Shepherd the tools he needs — money, in that case — to actually do the work.
Shepherd started B4U Fall after serving a 12-year federal prison sentence for possession of a weapon. He authored an after-school curriculum, Truth and Change, which teaches African American students how to make positive life choices.
B4U Fall recently helped organize a pop-up food distribution drive.
It’s the kind of credibility that makes such a sweeping effort — documenting community needs and concerns — possible in the first place.
“We don’t come from volunteer pools,” Shepherd said. “We actually come from the communities that we serve.”
Once B4U Fall has the data organized, other organizations can follow up and address those needs.
Kevin Berkopes, founder and CEO of Crossroads Education, has known Shepherd for about a year and a half and said his staff — which normally works in schools — has been repurposed to help Shepherd.
Berkopes trusts Shepherd because he knows the integrity has already been established.
“This isn’t somebody coming into the neighborhood and trying to save anyone,” he said. “This is him helping his neighbors.”
Other groups can’t get the same access to those residents, Berkopes said, or mobilize quickly enough when they do get information.
“Shane is extremely intelligent,” he said. “He has the ear of the community. What he’s trying to accomplish is a huge, lofty goal, but it’s needed.”
Contact staff writer Tyler Fenwick at 317-762-7853. Follow him on Twitter @Ty_Fenwick.
Shane Shepherd, founder of B4U Fall, a nonprofit mentoring program, held his son Messiyah, 19 months, as he welcomed visitors to a community violence reduction event at Municipal Gardens. (Photo/Curtis Guynn)
