INDIANAPOLIS -- Jason Carmichael has lived under the Michigan Street bridge downtown for two years. On Monday, he was informed he had 48 hours to vacate the area.
Homeless outreach workers visited Carmichael, his girlfriend Christa and a handful of other residents of the Michigan, Vermont and New York street underpasses to let them know Indiana State Police troopers would be there at 9 a.m. Wednesday to make sure they and their stuff were gone.
According to Mayor Joe Hogsett's office, the area under the interstate is INDOT property and the eviction action didn't involve the city, the mayor's office, IMPD or any of their community partners.
The eviction is the latest action affecting the city’s homeless since the closure of lthe longtime homeless camp known as “The Jungle” near the Indianapolis Zoo earlier this year.
PREVIOUS | Indy homeless camp ‘The Jungle’ closing, residents forced to find new place to live
In August, police evicted more homeless people from campsites under bridges along I-70 on the south side of downtown.
But unlike those evictions, where homeless residents were given a week’s notice or more, Carmichael said he and Christa were only given 48 hours.
“It was a major shock,” he said. “At least some of the people downtown got a week’s notice. We ended up getting two days. It wasn’t quite enough time.”
The camp under I-65 where Jason Carmichael and his girlfriend Christa live. (Photo by Jordan Fischer)
Carmichael says a battle with addiction landed him under the Michigan Street bridge. But he says he’s been clean for a year now and is looking for work.
Christa had a similar story. She says it was an addiction to painkillers that left her homeless. She’s been living under the bridge with Carmichael for the past year.
“My family… I kind of screwed up,” she said. “I got into pain pills. I’ve been clean now for two years. My son died last year. He was 2-and-a-half months old. I just kind of gave up for a while.”
But, Christa said, the sudden eviction was a “kick in the butt” for her and Carmichael to make a much-needed change. She says they plan on moving into a vacant home owned by a man they have both been working for recently. They’ll be working on refurbishing the house, and hope to eventually move into a permanent residence.
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Others under the bridges – like Joe and Hillbilly, Carmichael said – won’t be so lucky. They don’t necessarily have anywhere to go, except for a shelter or another bridge.
An unidentified homeless camp under the I-65 bridge over New York Street downtown. (Photo by Jordan Fischer)
Carmichael said he was told they were all being kicked out Wednesday because of the new bike lanes being built in the area.
“I feel as if the city looks at us as an eyesore and don’t really care about the homeless population. If you look around downtown, all the people who were homeless under bridges have moved and now have to sleep on benches, have grocery carts, and to me it’s just causing more problems than it was.”
In August, the ACLU of Indiana filed a class action lawsuit against the city of Indianapolis alleging a violation of the homeless population’s constitutional rights. The complaint stemmed from the eviction of homeless persons from their camps along the south side of downtown.
MORE | ACLU sues Indianapolis, alleges ‘unconstitutional’ treatment of homeless people
On Tuesday, Mayor Joe Hogsett, the Coalition for Homelessness Intervention and Prevention (CHIP) and Downtown Indy, Inc. unveiled the details of their new “Street Reach Indy” project.
As part of the initiative, orange and blue parking meters will be popping up around town, along with cash donation boxes, to collect money to help with homeless outreach efforts.
MORE | New parking meters in downtown Indy to help raise money to combat homelessness
Nine of the meters are already installed downtown, with plans for another 11. Cash boxes are already in place in front of the City-County Building, at the southwest corner of Illinois and Maryland streets, in two locations on Monument Circle and by BRICS in Broad Ripple, among other places.
Downtown Indy will be matching up to the first $50,000 collected in the meters and cash boxes.
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