The Indiana Statehouse is again the center of debate over how to provide adequate housing for the most vulnerable Hoosiers, including the chronically homeless.
Advocates including the Indiana Catholic Conference (ICC) are tracking two bills that take contrasting approaches to the issue – from cracking down on street camping in public places to building affordable housing on property owned by religious institutions.
“Legislators are coming from the perspective that it is not charitable to let people live on the street,” said Roarke LaCoursiere, associate director of the ICC, the public policy voice of the Catholic Church in Indiana. “There are people who remain on the streets who refuse services or for whatever reason cannot muster up what it takes to do what others believe is the right thing for them to do. So how can we engage with these people? How can we try to help them better their lives and restore their dignity?
“That is the goal of these types of bills, but how to meet that goal is something that people strongly disagree about.”
Senate Bill 285, which brings back language from a failed attempt last year to prohibit street encampments for the homeless, has passed the first hurdle in this year’s General Assembly.
Under the bill, law enforcement officials first encountering individuals sleeping or camping on public property would issue a warning and offer to connect them with local shelters and other resources. Repeat violations could result in a Class C misdemeanor, which carries a standard fine of $500 or up to 60 days in jail.
But its author, Sen. Cyndi Carrasco (R-Indianapolis), emphasized to lawmakers that the primary intent of the legislation is to offer homeless people viable alternatives to living on the street.
“The goal of Senate Bill 285 is not to criminalize homelessness,” Carrasco said during a Jan. 14 hearing on the bill in the Senate Judiciary Committee. “This bill is structured so that initial interactions are focused on intervention rather than punishment.”
Carrasco described the misdemeanor provision of the bill as means to “create a moment where outreach, diversion and connection to services can occur, and to move individuals to a healthier and more stable life through a clear, multi-step process that prioritizes services before enforcement.”
“For individuals struggling with serious mental health or substance abuse issues who are unable or unwilling to seek help on their own, this bill creates a pathway to connect them with health care, housing resources, treatment and support systems that can help begin to stabilize their lives,” Carrasco said. “To be clear, it is not compassionate to allow our neighbors to die on the streets. This is a solvable problem, and I believe this bill is part of that solution.”
But the majority of those testifying at the hearing spoke in opposition to the bill, arguing that the legislation would indeed criminalize homelessness and place more barriers to self-sufficiency in the way of the most vulnerable people in Indiana. The ICC stopped short of taking an official position, praising the bill’s author for her good faith effort on a serious issue while maintaining that there is more work to be done on the bill.
“This is obviously a multi-layered, complex issue,” said Alexander Mingus, executive director of the ICC, in his most recent podcast with LaCoursiere. “And this is certainly a complex bill, and we’re certain there will be changes as the legislation moves through the process. We will continue to ask questions about when trying to get someone off the streets, what is the most holistic solution that’s feasible (beyond) putting someone in jail or giving them a fine.”
Senate Bill 285 passed the committee on an 8-2 vote and now awaits further action in the Senate.
Its most vocal support came from representatives of the Cicero Institute, a Texas-based think tank that is behind similar legislation passed in Florida, Georgia and Texas banning homeless encampments. The Cicero Institute backed a measure almost identical to Senate Bill 285 in last year’s General Assembly.
The ICC, however, points to another policy source closer to home for additional perspective. The University of Notre Dame’s Wilson Sheehan Lab for Economic Opportunities (LEO) conducts research and aims to identify innovative and effective programs nationwide that help move people out of poverty for good.
In an op-ed addressing last year’s homelessness legislation in Indiana, a LEO professor argued that criminalizing those living on the street would only exacerbate a serious problem.
“The root causes of homelessness – unaffordable housing, untreated mental illness or substance use disorder, an unforeseen financial crisis such as a health scare or loss of a loved one – are not mysteries,” said David Phillips, research professor of economics at the University of Notre Dame. “Criminalization does not address these problems. In the absence of strong evidence, we should be skeptical that its primary effect will be anything other than sweeping real problems under the rug, pushing vulnerable people from one community in Indiana to the next.”
Another program at Notre Dame – the Church Properties Initiative at the university’s Fitzgerald Institute for Real Estate – could hold the key to one type of innovative solution that lawmakers are seeking in another major bill.
One element of House Bill 1001, a significant housing affordability measure under consideration at the General Assembly, proposes streamlined zoning to allow religious entities to build affordable housing on church property. The ICC supports this effort, which falls under the growing “Yes in God’s Backyard” (YIGBY) movement nationwide.
YIGBY efforts encourage churches and other faith-based institutions to use their underutilized land or current structures to create dignified, attainable housing for low- and moderate-income households. They are a counterpoint to more restrictive zoning practices that are often categorized as “Not in My Backyard” (NIMBY).
House Bill 1001 has been referred to the House Committee on Local Government, where it awaits further review. LaCoursiere and Mingus said they would continue to monitor developments on the housing affordability measure, particularly as it relates to the potential use of church property.
“We believe this is a good idea – certainly one small piece in a much broader, complex puzzle,” Mingus said.
To follow priority legislation of the ICC, visit www.indianacc.org. This website includes access to ICAN, the Indiana Catholic Action Network, which offers the Church’s position on key issues. Those who sign up for ICAN receive alerts on legislation moving forward and ways to contact their elected representatives.
