1,500 homeless on housing waiting list, IMPD's Homeless Unit works to keep them safe

INDIANAPOLIS — According to IMPD, the lack of affordable housing in Marion County is playing a major role in homelessness.

Sleeping in a tent, on the sidewalk, or anywhere they can lay their head has become reality for hundreds of Hoosiers.

A homeless camp tucked off the interstate is home to at least ten people, including Kenneth Peavler.

"We don't want to be around residents to make them nervous or bother anybody," Peavler said. "We just need a place to be where we aren't bothered so we can get our jobs or do whatever it is to make a living. It's hard to get a place to live nowadays."

Making sure people are safe and keeping it clean is IMPD's Homeless Unit.

The unit started 11 years ago. Officers take to the streets, attending to the homeless while looking for the root causes of homelessness.

"We are a little bit nontraditional with our law enforcement, but we come in and we just try to provide services that they need," IMPD officer Pat McPherson said. "It might be medical issues. It might be mental health issues. It might be trash pickup."

WRTV recently rode along with McPherson and Tom Tyson as they did their weekly checks on different homeless camps.

"You can see the camp is clean here. They just need some help getting rid of the trash they collected," McPherson said.

The officers ultimately decided they would partner with DPW to clean up the camp in the near future.

Officers in the unit, develop relationships and see firsthand the challenges homeless Hoosiers are facing.

"I think the lack of quality housing with wrap-around services is probably the number one issue for us," IMPD officer Phil Smiley said. "We have a 1,500+ person waiting list and ya know we are policemen. I can't help someone get a house especially when there aren't any."

Smiley said the department partners with the non-profit organization, The Pour House, to lend a hand to those needing housing, mental health treatment and healthcare.

The Pour House partners with other organizations in the community like the Horizon House, CHIP and PBSO.

Right now, the organizations have 1,500 homeless on a housing waitlist.

The Pour House has helped thousands get off the street or treatment they need.

A representative shares an office with IMPD's Homeless Unit and often goes out with officers to offer assistance.

In some cases, those waiting for help say there are waiting for years.

"Man the waiting list is just so long. I am like when is this going to happen. How much do we have to go through," Clifford Massey said.

Massey has been on the streets for a year and a half. He says he's on the Horizon House's waiting list.

"It's just rough on us out here," Massey said.

He's just one of the hundreds struggling to survive as they wait for the phone call saying it's finally their turn for housing assistance.

"Just get me a house. I'm tired," Richard Gay said.

"Anything you guys can do please do it because it's ridiculous what's going on with the waiting list," Terri Small said.

Despite the work of its homeless unit, the city is still in a crisis, according to IMPD.

"There is only so many that can go into shelters," Ofc. Smiley said. "There's only so many hotels that they are going to be ale to get into, so we have to have a place for them to stay and right now we are kind of out of ideas for that."

In 2016, the Indianapolis City-County Council passed the Homeless Bill of Rights protecting their access to medical care and public areas.

"If you are on city property, if you are on a right away, then I am not denying your ability to use that area," Smiley said. "They are allowed to be there and I can't as a police officer force them to move from that spot unless I can permanently house them immediately and that's just not going to happen. There is no housing."

Redevelopments across the city and rodent infestation have forced some camps to be shut down and are limiting where the homeless can go, according to IMPD.

"When I was staying at tent city they had to shut it down due to the trash," said Barakeem Akapan.

Most of the people living in these camps say all they have is each other, but this lifestyle isn't easy.

Every year hundreds die across the nation from conditions outside.

A memorial wall in Indianapolis shows just how much people care for those they've lost.

This compassion from the homeless community and IMPD is why the department says there is an uptick of homeless coming to Marion County from nearby states and counties.

"There are a lot of great services so folks are drawn here because we don't criminalize homelessness here," McPherson said. "Folks understand if they come to Indianapolis we are going to try and provide them the safest and the most help we possibly can."

"We are not going to arrest our way out of a homeless issue," Smiley said. "I feel blessed to be a part of IMPD that they allow us the opportunity to do this. I think this is the kind of policing idea that people are looking for. We are going out looking for solutions rather than just arresting a guy. We are trying to attack something at the root and make a difference from the bottom up."

The city of Indianapolis says we are facing an affordable housing shortage the city has never seen before.

"All together we estimate there is about 50,000 of a shortage in affordable housing throughout Indianapolis so we have got to keep pace in terms of preserving and creating affordable housing," said Director of Metropolitan Development, Scarlett Andrews.

This month, The City of Indianapolis Department of Metropolitan Development (DMD) announced a $56-million plan to help Marion County residents stay afloat.

That includes supporting a 454-unit complex for lower-income residents and those facing substance abuse problems and more.

Most Hoosiers in need of emergency rental assistance can go to www.Indianahousingnow.org or call 211.

Marion County and Hamilton County have their own programs.

The site for Hamilton County is www.hctaindiana.com.

Marion County is www.Indyrent.org.

CHIP: Coalition for Homeless Intervention and Prevention https://www.chipindy.org/

Horizon House: https://www.horizonhouse.cc/streetoutreach/

Another resource that helps the homeless that will help with housing applications, and more is 317 Housing Solutions. They can be emailed at housingsolutions1@yahoo.com.