Homelessness in Indiana

On any given day in Indiana, 5,625 people are experiencing homelessness. 18,252 of Indiana’s public school students experienced homelessness over the course of the year 2020. Homelessness is a massive issue in Indiana. We see it daily. On street corners, in alleys - families and children, people have to live in these circumstances. Many organizations, volunteers, charity groups, etc., head out to public spaces to feed the homeless, one of the many great ways to give back to your community and help people in need. However, organizations and citizens are at risk of being fined for feeding the homeless. 

New Proposed Fine for Feeding Homeless:

A new proposal was read in front of Indiana’s City-County Council a couple of weeks ago, prop 256. Here is a summary of the proposal from IndyStar, “[The proposal] would require any person or group planning to hand out goods to at least 10 people on public property to register with the Office of Public Health and Safety.” This means that any citizen or organization wishing to help others in need by handing out free food, clothes, water, etc., would have to register before doing so or risk being fined anywhere from $250 to $500.

This proposal might sound familiar to you. According to an article by WRTV, a similar proposal, prop 291, was brought in front of the Council a while back. Proposal 291 was put forth by Republican Councilor Mike Hart, with the similar 256 proposal put out with Democratic support this time. Although there are differences between the two proposals, many citizens and organizations involved view them as more or less the same. However, according to WRTV, Councilor Zach Adamson, one of the three sponsors of prop 256, believes the two proposals to be very different, and this new prop 256 to be essential to the safety and well-being of the community. 

“It is the exact opposite. It is a supported proposal that actually has additional measures to support the proposal. There are bathrooms associated with this. There are cleaning stations associated with it. DPW and cleaning companies will help keep the areas clean. That didn't exist before.” also stating, “Prop 256 is a proposal that we have that will aim to consolidate efforts around food distribution. There are issues of litter and violence and other situations. While they may be happening with only a few organizations, they're still happening and they require the city to take steps to mitigate those.”

Many organizations and volunteers are pushing back on this proposal as they feel it’s just there to hinder their process of helping those in need. “We just feel like it's getting in the way of the work we're trying to do. We don't feel like we need to register anything with the city. Even though they say they're concerned with litter and trash, if you look around, there's trash everywhere.” Stephen Lane, a community activist who volunteers with Indy Hope Packages, said in an interview with WRTV. 

Statistics: 

Homelessness is a big issue here in Indiana. It is disappointing to see our City Council adding loops to jump through. Here are a couple more specific statistics on homelessness in Indiana; 

Although homelessness is an issue that can affect anyone, women face unique challenges. Here is a list of unique struggles women face during homelessness from Career and Recovery Resources Inc.; 

Prostitution

“Women face sexual assault, physical and domestic violence as homeless. They are often forced to take up prostitution or they end up trading themselves. For instance, women have reported sexual assault in showers and public restrooms.”

Deteriorating health during reproductive years and Menopause

“Homeless women lack preventive care such as prenatal, mammograms and other tests. The rate of unintended pregnancies is higher in homeless women who have no access to contraceptives. As a result, there is a much higher rate of abortions, abnormalities and adverse birth outcomes.”

Access to menstrual products is limited

“For homeless women, menstrual cycles are a monthly challenge to survival. Most of the shelters do not provide menstrual products such as pads or tampons. A box of pad can cost anywhere around $ 5 to $ 10 plus taxes.”

Lack of Maternal health care plans 

“Most of the unintended pregnancies happen inside homeless shelters where a lot of women are forced to have sexual intercourse.”

Lack of Safety and Security

“Women and children fleeing domestic violence from an abusive partner often face disappointment as homeless. The streets make women even more vulnerable for abuse and violence from strangers. Homeless women are an easy prey as half of them would never report rape and sexual abuse owning to their own insecurities.”

Gender inequality in jobs

“We cannot deny the fact that gender disparity and sexism does exists in our nation. Additionally, more than half of the homeless women do not have a high school degree which makes them less likely to attain a stable source of income.”

Extreme Depression

“About 1 in 4 homeless people face extreme mental issues which goes untreated. In other words, 47% of homeless women meet the criteria for a major depressive disorder alone, which is twice the rate of women in the general population.” 

Victimization

“Homeless women are particularly vulnerable to multiple forms of victimization. Subsequently, the shelters for women are unsafe and they have reported extreme physical and mental violence inside the safe homes.”

Career and Recovery Resources Inc. also shared a list of reasons why the population of homeless women is growing; 

The disparity between rent and income

“In other words, the inflated cost of living with a single income and growing children often becomes a nightmare for single mothers.”

Lack of affordable housing

“Further, In the United States of America, there is a drastic shortage of affordable rental units for the poor people.” 

Domestic Violence

“This is the largest contributing factor of women homelessness. Most of the women face physical and sexual abuse from their partners which leaves them with no other choice but to leave their home.”

Old Age

“Women in their 50’s expect financial and emotional stability in professional and personal lives. However, many women, especially single mothers never are at the receiving end.” 

Poverty

“One in eight women lives in poverty in the United States and every 5th child grows up poor.” 

Unplanned Pregnancy

“Young girls are more prone to unplanned pregnancies as a result of rejection from the partner, family, and friends.”

As you can see, women face many unique circumstances, making homelessness even more of a struggle for them. It’s also vital that we acknowledge that unplanned pregnancies will be even more of a cause for homelessness now without access to safe abortions in Indiana. Legislation like the abortion ban and proposals like prop 256 are only making matters worse for Hoosiers everywhere. Taking away access to basic healthcare and creating more loops for organizations to jump through is not the answer. 

The City Council is still discussing proposal 256, and you can still have your say. Make sure to keep up on Indiana politics and get involved in helping others in need. Stay up to date on policies and legislation we are fighting for by becoming an Action Advocate with us!

W4C