BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Monroe County leaders have unveiled a new housing action plan after a rise in homelessness in the last few years.
This plan originally came from a survey the South Central Housing Network did in May on several unhoused people. They found in 2019, only 29 people were reported unhoused. Just five years later, the number jumped to 117.
"We are not alone in seeing a rise in street homelessness," Bloomington Mayor Kerry Thompson said. "Bloomington joins the rest of the nation in this crisis. It's a crisis that is complicated by the many facets and faces in homelessness."
In this action plan, the city plans to address eight immediate needs:
- Increase street outreach services.
- Strengthen case management support.
- Strengthen diversion efforts to prevent homelessness.
- Enact a temporary moratorium on welcoming people from outside the region to overnight emergency shelters if there is an inflow of people.
- Increase the number of housing units with rents under $500/month.
- Strengthen security for permanent supportive housing to reduce exits to homelessness.
- Increase the number of beds for medical respite.
- Determine any need for additional shelter beds.
"This is far more complex than putting some mats on a basement floor for people to sleep on or establishing a condoned camping area," Thompson said. "We have looked at those models and they do not improve and do not provide the improvements to what we have right now."
There are also long-term priorities the city plans to address as well. These include:
- Restructuring the local criminal justice system for people experiencing homelessness who repeatedly commit crimes.
- Continue to invest and advocate for additional housing.
The city will work with housing agencies to address those immediate needs. One agency told 13News they want to make sure all unhoused people get proper health care through this plan.
"When you are living on the streets, housing may not be your priority, it's about survival so health care gets put to the back burner," Melissa Burgess with HealthNet said. "What we are trying to do is provide that health care on the streets while they are just trying to survive coupled with helping them secure housing and support services."
They say this action plan should push the city to look at all aspects that impact homelessness.
The city plans on hosting several community workshops for input on the action plan. The first one will be on Tuesday, Aug. 13, starting at 5 p.m.