ELKHART, Ind.-- Monday night, the Elkhart city council is meeting for a committee of the whole to discuss homelessness in Elkhart.
An ordinance on the table looks to make it illegal to store personal items overnight or to sleep overnight on public city property.
Bradley Tracy, chief of staff for the Elkhart mayor’s office, estimated roughly 175 homeless people live across the city. He said local leaders believe this ordinance would be a way to connect those people with resources-- and get them out of public parks.
But people living in these conditions tell ABC57’s Annie Kate it's hard to get back on one's feet when they have nowhere to keep their things.
Now, the goal is to meet in the middle to address concerns on both sides.
"Currently, there's no real way that the city or government can force these people into programs,” Tracy said. “It's by choice. So what this ordinance will do is will give them the attention of actually showing them the resources they have.”