An initiative to address homelessness in Monroe County would offer 12 months of subsidized rent to people living outdoors in Bloomington.

The initiative, called “Streets to Stability,” is a collaborative effort among local government, nonprofits dedicated to homelessness, IU Health, and the Greater Bloomington Chamber of Commerce.

The initiative would focus on one encampment or zone at a time and connect participants to long-term housing over four to six weeks before closing the encampments.

The nonprofit Heading Home of South Central Indiana is coordinating with local landlords to offer incentives to relax usual barriers to housing that people experiencing homelessness might face. Those include income requirements, criminal history, and eviction history.

Mary Morgan, executive director of Heading Home of South Central Indiana, said the initiative will include hiring a case manager to work with people selected for housing on potential mental health treatment and finding secure jobs.

“There’s going to be intensive case management to address those issues, and I think that's one of the reasons why I'm optimistic that it'll be successful,” Morgan said.

The initiative comes as a new state law goes into effect banning camping or sleeping in public.

Read more: A cop, a homeless man, and a provider: The street view of new state law’s consequences

Senate Enrolled Act 285, passed earlier this year, prohibits unauthorized camping, sleeping, or long-term sheltering on publicly owned land unless that use of the land has been authorized.

Morgan said addressing homelessness has a new urgency now that unsheltered people face potential fines and jail time.

“We began talking about this at the end of last year,” Morgan said. “At that time, we did not know that the anti-camping ban would go into place.”

Morgan said the initiative has a grant application pending and is working with member organizations to secure further funding.

“To make a commitment for 12 months of rent is a big one, but we feel like that there is opportunity with both private and public partnerships to achieve that goal,” Morgan said.

Morgan said an economic argument can be made for the subsidies in addition to a compassionate one.

“It's far cheaper to have a housing subsidy than to support the criminal justice system or emergency hospital room costs over time,” Morgan said.

The initiative plans to select an encampment or zone to serve as a proof of concept test this summer.