Advocates are asking state lawmakers to reject a proposal that would make camping or sleeping in public a Class C misdemeanor.

Supporters of the bill say the goal is to address chronic homelessness and it would require police to keep track of how many people are arrested for camping outside.

Dawn Baldwin, a formerly homeless resident of Lafayette, says when she was cited while living on the street, that criminal record later made it difficult to qualify for housing. She says she was eventually able to find a place to live only because a landlord was willing to give her another chance.

Andrew Bradley with Prosperity Indiana points to similar legislation in Kentucky, where he says about one in five homeless individuals has been cited or jailed. He says in Indiana that would work out to nearly forty-nine hundred dollars per citation, creating costs for both the person involved and the court system.

Housing advocates estimate enforcement could cost the state more than one million dollars a year to fine, ticket, and jail about three hundred people.

FROM INDIANA PUBLIC BROADCASTING