Michigan City leaders are looking at ways to help unhoused individuals find a safe place to live. The city council’s public health and safety committee explored the issue during a work session Thursday, after hearing concerns from residents and businesses.
Council member Donald Przybylinkski pointed to a complaint he got about a local parking lot. "It was a total disaster," Przybylinkski said. "There was clothes there. There was feces there. There was trash there, and it was very embarrassing to Michigan City."
City officials say it may be an unintended consequence of having more resources available in Michigan City. They say people facing housing insecurity go to the city to try to get help, since it isn’t available in other places.
Still, Mayor Angie Nelson Deuitch said that simply defunding the nonprofits that are trying to help people won’t make homelessness go away. Instead, she said the city needs a comprehensive strategy.
“I still believe that we’re going to have to put some funds to it and have someone come in and walk us through creating our own action agenda around homelessness,” Deuitch told council members.
The mayor said she’s assembling a committee of service providers and has explored the idea of creating a street team to connect unhoused people with resources. She said the city is also looking at ways to reconnect unhoused individuals with their families, if appropriate, and possibly offer hotel accommodations in exchange for help in keeping the city clean.
Police Chief Steven Forker said his officers have stepped up foot patrols. But they can’t force unhoused people to get help, and they may not be doing anything illegal.
“There’s no law against panhandling. . . . That was repealed, so for simply asking for money, we can’t arrest on that,” Forker explained.
But he said police can restrict where and how people ask for money if it poses a safety concern, and people can be prevented from camping on private property, if the owner complains.
Still, many of the organizations stressed that most of the people they work with are from Michigan City or elsewhere in LaPorte County.
Residents and nonprofits offered suggestions for addressing the issue – ranging from tax breaks for older homeowners to advocating for “housing-first” policies at the federal level. Resident Michael Andrews said he’d like to see more “tiny homes” in Michigan City.
"If you give them an opportunity for something affordable, they’ll do it themselves," Andrews said. "They will go out. They’ll work six months to afford a home."
Many felt that more of the community needed to get involved in working towards solutions.
Meanwhile, Mayor Deuitch said she plans to host a dinner with the unhoused population to hear from them directly. “We need to just be very direct and blunt that, ‘Hey, you’ve got to help us help you, right? We can’t have you sitting on stoops, walking around.’”
She said she wants to hear what specific help they feel they need.
