Lately, I’ve seen a lot of comments and posts about dowtown Indy’s increasing homeless population. While I am neither a social worker or civic leader, I wanted to share my observations & possible explanations, as I understand them, based on my learnings. Thread

In 1994, allegations of patient abuse led to the closing of Central State Hospital, which, at one time, provided mental health programs to more than 2,000 residential patients. In fact, many of the CS patients of the 1st half of the 20th Century are still there- buried in mass or

discreetly marked graves near the hospital property. It was not uncommon, decades ago, for the family of a mental patient, to essentially surrender them to the state- making for their later life accommodations “someone else’s problem.” While the closing of CS may, in fact, have

been with the patients’ best interest in mind, it, to an extent, made their well being and therapy “someone else’s problem.” Just over a decade after Central State, Muscatatuck State Development Center (once officially known as the “Farm of the feeble minded” also closed. While

it is naive to think the homeless you see today are former residents of either facility- the truth remains- Indiana has fewer large residential treatment facililites now than it has in the past. This is not to say that every homeless person is a victim of mental illness- myriad

of issues can lead one to the streets. The opioid epidemic that has exploded in recent years is also a factor. When the state (understandably and justifiably) clamped down on illegal oxycontin and pill acquisition and abuse, the black market began heavily producing and pushing

heroin as a cheap, plentiful replacement. The results are devestating, and one of just many substances abused in the U.S..
Which leads us to the issue of housing in Indianapolis. Indianapolis, while a tremendous place to call home, is one of, if not the, largest American cities

WITHOUT a municipally run housing facility. While the shelters of Indianapolis do great work, many are based in faith or other initiatives that are not seen as all encompassing to some of its potential residents. That’s an understandable and free choice on both sides. Further

compounding the dillema of placement, is, of course, COVID-19. Homeless shelters in New York, for example, saw mass casualties this spring with COVID breakouts. Social distancing and inevitable hygiene challenges have necessitated population limitation that would otherwise not be

present. There have been efforts for shelters to displace residents into open facilities around the area, but most of those facilities are funded via specific financial allocation for designated needs of their beneficiaries, which complicates things. The laxed laws downtown on

panhandling in key areas is also a contributing factor to the emergence of homeless in centralized areas.
I love Indianapolis, take great pride in it, and 100% understand the concern of fellow citizens with what they see as a downtown eyesore. I believe a city should be measured

not by its upper crust, but rather but how it treats its less fortunate & most vulnerable. I’m not saying I have answers- I mean, I talked ball scores for a living- but wanted to shed some light beyond the surface of what you see.
Oh. And please listen to the 500 on the radio.