Terre Haute mayor Brandon Sakbun said it’s challenging to address homelessness when individuals are being transported into the city from outside communities.
“We’ve conducted an internal investigation. We have a list of 40 individuals who came from not just other Indiana cities. I want to make that point clear, a lot of these folks have come from other states.”
He said smaller towns don’t have the resources to help the homeless, but after federal funding cuts – it’s going to be a bigger challenge for Terre Haute.
Bloomington Mayor Kerry Thomson addressed the same issue in July saying people dropped off from other cities end up in encampments and lose ties to family and friends.
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Sakbun said there’s a small group within the homeless population that reject services.
“We cannot let that narrative outweigh the fact that 85 to 90% of these individuals did not choose to be homeless, so we've got to find a way to help them get their lives back on track.”
He said the city can be compassionate and pragmatic while finding new ways to address homelessness.
