Ashley belongs in jail for the crime of homelessness.
If Senator Cyndi Carrasco’s Senate Bill 285 is passed.
Call your representative now and voice your opposition to
Senator Cyndi Carrasco’s Senate Bill 285
800-382-9467
Senate Bill 285, authored by State Senator Cyndi Carrasco (R-Indianapolis) in the Indiana General Assembly, is a proposal to ban and penalize people experiencing homelessness for “street camping” or, sleeping or setting up encampments on public land.
What Senate Bill 285 Actually Does
If a person experiencing homelessness is found camping after a warning window, they can be charged with a Class C misdemeanor, punishable by up to 60 days in jail and up to a $500 fine.
Turning the act of sleeping in public, a necessity for people without housing, into a misdemeanor is an attempt to punish homelessness rather than solve it. People who have nowhere stable to go face fines, court dates, and possible jail time simply for existing outside.
Senator Cyndi Carrasco’s Senate Bill 285 does not solve homelessness. It criminalizes people for their circumstances while offering no guaranteed access to housing, mental health support, or sustainable services. What it creates is a pathway to jails and fines for those already struggling, exacerbating the very problems it purports to address.
If Indiana truly wants to help people off the streets, the focus should be on investment in housing-first solutions, expanded shelter capacity, community-based services, and real support networks — not on penal statutes that punish vulnerability.
