Indianapolis modifies Fountain Square camp closure, placing residents in new housing initiative

Earlier this month, two Fountain Square encampment residents weren’t feeling optimistic as they waited on an apartment through a housing assistance program. Like many others experiencing homelessness, they were trying to improve their circumstances.

“It’s hard to get up outta here,” said Charlie Merrell. “It is really hard to get up outta this hole.”

But a few days later, their spirits had lifted.

Angela Merrell had just biked back from a gas station with a soda and was excited because she was about to pack up their belongings. She said she had an appointment the next morning to pick up their keys for a new apartment, and that some others in the camp were also hopeful.

The Indianapolis Office of Public Health and Safety had reversed plans that day to fully close an encampment for people experiencing homelessness in Fountain Square. It would now allow camp residents to remain in the area while it placed them through a new housing initiative called Streets to Home Indy.

The city originally had planned to enforce the encampment closure Monday, August 11, after local property owners expressed safety concerns about the camp.

“This area will remain permanently closed to camping and storage of personal property after that date,” the closure notice read.

Those at the camp would have to leave. The notice said that the city would provide camp residents with bins to store personal property for up to two months. OPHS said agency partners would “make every effort to provide temporary or permanent housing options” to camp residents through city housing programs, but did not guarantee they would be able to access housing.

By the end of the day Monday, there were at least 15 tents still at the camp. The anticipated closure did not come. OPHS told WFYI that any closure activity would happen later.

That evening, Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett shared his proposed budget for 2026 with the City-County Council. It included funding for housing and homelessness, including for a new initiative.

“Streets to Home Indy represents a collaborative partnership between private, public, and faith-based institutions,” Hogsett said. “Its aim is to take immediate action in getting people off the streets and into housing. And supported by a $2.7 million allocation from the city, phase one of this plan has already begun. And an additional $10 million in this budget package will further support initiatives to help our unhoused neighbors.”

Streets to Home Indy was announced in June, along with a new plan to end unsheltered homelessness by 2028. The previous plan aimed to end homelessness by 2023, but the city fell short amid the pandemic.

The new initiative aims to house up to 350 people in the next 12 months and will provide supportive services to address chronic issues that can prevent people from accessing housing, such as health problems or addiction.

This approach is known as “housing first,” a strategy that prioritizes providing permanent supportive housing for people without penalizing them. Streets to Home follows a model called “Direct to Housing Encampment Response,” which focuses on housing people at one given encampment at a time before moving onto the next one. Once everyone at a camp is housed, the area will be closed.

The Coalition for Homelessness Intervention and Prevention, or CHIP, leads Streets to Home Indy in partnership with the city and other organizations.

At a meeting after the budget proposal, OPHS director Andrew Merkley said the work had already begun.

“We’ve already completed the first pilot project, and everyone from that camp wanted housing and has been re-homed,” Merkley said. He added the focus will now be on the Fountain Square encampment.

“We are making progress at Fountain Square,” he said. “I think it’s important to note that we don’t want to move individuals into other neighborhoods and other parts of the Fountain Square neighborhood, but we want to act with compassion and with urgency as we solve for this challenge.”

Merkley said that the city had also addressed safety concerns around the camp: A person who had fired a gun and another person who had allegedly abused animals were in custody.

When WFYI returned to the camp, Angela Merrell said things had changed. Not only was she optimistic about her housing appointment the next day, but she said officials had come to the camp and that camp residents had been assessed for housing.

Other camp residents told WFYI the city was working to put people in housing.

“Everyone who was living at the camp when the July 25 camp closure was issued will be connected to housing,” said a statement last week.

People who have left the camp for a new location following the closure notice are also eligible. Those who move into the camp after that are not.

The city estimates that the process of moving unhoused individuals into housing will take about “four to six weeks to complete.”

Merrell said she’s glad that people will get to stay until they receive housing through the new program.

“Some people got good hearts, some don’t. And you know, I’m glad the city changed their mind. Just shows me they do have heart,” she said.

Contact WFYI reporter Zak Cassel at zcassel@wfyi.org.