Homeless camps on public property will be illegal in Indiana starting July 1, with violators facing fines of up to $500 or even jail time.

Proponents of the new law said the threat of a Class C misdemeanor will force unhoused people to seek the help they need.

Critics, like Bloomington Mayor Kerry Thomson, said it will further complicate the issue.
“The last thing we want to do is arrest people,” she said. “We know we can't arrest our way out of homelessness, and it's just going to accumulate fines for people and create situations that are more complicated.”

Thomson said the city aims to double down on its existing plans to curb homelessness before the July 1 deadline, with the county jail being a place of “last resort.”

The law says land can be authorized by local governments for homeless camps, something Thomson said the city has explored before but decided against.

“My personal opinion is, if we're going to organize something on mass scale, why wouldn't we just house people,” she said. “It's not that much more expensive. If you have to provide the security, if you have to provide the supportive services, etc., putting up a simple building, even if it's only a temporary one to get people inside, it's not much harder.”

Thomson said Bloomington has more than 100 unsheltered and unhoused people. That’s more than 100 people who need to be housed by July to comply with the new law. The Monroe County Jail is already overcrowded and outdated.

“If the state insists that they have to be inside somewhere, the jail may be the place of last resort, and our county jail certainly doesn't need that,” she said.