Dive Brief:
- Indiana Gov. Mike Braun on Tuesday signed legislation establishing a statewide ban on unauthorized camping, sleeping or long-term shelter on public land, effective July 1.
- Prior to criminal enforcement, the legislation requires law enforcement to determine whether “emergency mental health detention” is warranted. If it is not, officers are required to issue a warning and provide information about available shelter services.
- A person can be criminally charged if they are within 300 feet of where the warning took place after 48 hours have passed.
Dive Insight:
Since the 2024 Supreme Court ruling that empowered municipalities to ban camping, more local governments are approaching homelessness as a criminal justice issue. California, which has the country’s largest unhoused population, has recently ramped up efforts to dismantle homeless encampments on state property.
Braun’s office said the purpose of the Indiana bill is not about criminalizing homelessness, but rather about moving unhoused people “toward social service networks to help them get needed services and stay safe.” The law also seeks to bypass local government policies that do not comply with the state’s anti-camping stance.
The bill is in line with President Donald Trump’s call to cut ties with housing-first policies, which Braun’s office said have “demonstrably not reduced homelessness.”
Homeless advocacy groups have pushed back on that narrative. The National Low Income Housing Coalition in 2022 credited housing-first efforts with reducing chronic homelessness by 20% since 2007. The National Alliance to End Homelessness has pointed to underinvestment in affordable housing and underfunded federal programs for the country’s rise in homelessness.
