‘All hands on deck’; City-County Councilor calls attention to far east side homeless encampment

INDIANAPOLIS — A homeless encampment has taken over the area behind a Walmart on the far east side. 

A walk through the woods behind the East Washington Street store reveals countless shopping carts filled with food, clothes, tents and trash scattered on the ground.

City-County Councilor Michael-Paul Hart said a manager at the Walmart reached out to him about the growing homelessness issue around the store. He then went out to see it himself.

“You just look at it and go ‘I have a 15-year-old daughter, and I live in this area.’ I, in good conscience, would not let her take that trail during the day,” Hart said. 

The area right of Pennsy Trail is where a dog, Buzz, and his owner, Rico, call home. Rico didn’t want to do an on-camera interview, but said he’s lived behind the Walmart for about three years.

“There’s a level of compassion, but there’s also two sides of it,” Hart said. “There’s the public health and safety is a big part of this, and that’s what [the Walmart manager] wanted to get across to me.”

Rico said people have been stealing from Walmart and one person has been starting intentional fires.

“All the way up and down the trail, there are shopping carts everywhere, old clothes, bikes, trash, burned trash cans, benches that are missing, things that have been caught on fire, just up and down the trail,” Hart said.

Rico said the camp has gone from 16 people to about six in the few years he’s lived there. He and others don’t want to leave behind the freedom that comes with their current living situation.

“That’s a shame when we’re actively trying to build up our community and people aren’t comfortable using the avenues that we have,” Hart said. 

Hart said he’s been in contact with the Indiana Department of Health (IDOH) and the Office of Public Health and Safety (OPHS) about the camp.

OPHS sent the following statement about the situation:

“OPHS is aware of the encampment and directed crews to clean up debris around the site. The challenge of chronic homelessness is nationwide, and we appreciate the work that our partners in homelessness care are doing to assist our unsheltered neighbors. Our Streets to Home Initiative, in partnership with CHIP, alongside various housing-first initiatives, are a small part of the city’s comprehensive efforts to address unsheltered homelessness.”

–OPHS spokesperson

”I think this is an all-hands-on-deck type of approach where it’s going to take a lot of organizations coming together to reach a resolution,” Hart said. 

IDOH, the Department of Public Works and the Indianapolis Housing Agency did not give any statements on the camp. Walmart was not able to comment on the situation.  

A homeless encampment in Fountain Square has been cleared out after being formally closed on Aug. 11. 

The City confirmed that it would be deploying its Streets to Home Indy program to gradually rehouse the individuals living in tents on Leonard Street, rather than forcing them out on a deadline. According to a previous report, a Streets to Home Indy pilot resulted in the rehousing of 10 homeless individuals. 

Rico said none of the Fountain Square residents have found shelter behind the Walmart.