Addressing homelessness should not be a state issue, says one opponent of House Bill 1662.
The bill would charge a homeless person with a misdemeanor for establishing a public encampment on state-owned land. Indiana’s attorney general would be allowed to sue a city or town if they enact policies discouraging police from enforcing encampment policies.
More on HB 1662: Homeless advocates oppose Indiana bill to criminalize sidewalk camping
Rev. Forrest Gilmore is executive director of antipoverty group Beacon, Inc. in Monroe County.
He said state-level action would only add pressure to local police, jails and social services.
“For all those reasons,” Gilmore said. “I think it’s best to just leave things as they are and to allow local creativity, local innovation to solve problems and address them as best we can.”
Gilmore also said the bill doesn’t address the root causes of homelessness, such as a lack of mental health resources and affordable housing.
“Until we solve those problems, trying to honestly imprison people because they’re outside just seems absurd to me,” he said.
The City of Bloomington already regulates camping in public spaces.
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