Testimony Before Our Leaders
| On February 17th, I spoke before the Indiana House Government and Regulatory Reform Committee. They were considering approval of HB1662, a bill that would ban state funding for Housing First programs while also making it illegal to camp on public lands throughout the state of Indiana. The bill was passed by the committee but eventually was pulled from consideration before a vote by the entire house. I offered these words as testimony in opposition to the bill: |
| Thank you, Chairman Miller and the members of the Committee, for this opportunity to speak before you. I am Rev. Forrest Gilmore, the Executive Director of Beacon, Inc., a homeless services and housing nonprofit that has been serving people experiencing extreme poverty in Monroe County for over 25 years. Beacon housed or prevented homelessness for at least 683 children and adults last year and is the largest nonprofit housing provider for people experiencing homelessness in south central Indiana. In 15 years as the Agency’s Director, I have had the valuable opportunity to witness much of what works and much that doesn’t in the battle against homelessness. One of the people we have worked with, Coy, had been homeless for more than a decade when we first encountered him. He fit the stereotype of what many of us think of when we talk about someone who is homeless. He lived on the streets, had an alcohol problem, scruffy beard, had been in and out of jail many times for minor offenses. Coy also had severe depression and Crohn’s Disease. Due to the Chron’s Disease, Coy had had a colostomy, but having no ongoing medical care, he used Kroger’s Bags to collect his waste. Please forgive the directness of this. Because of this, he was nicknamed Stinky and would avoid going inside because of the odor. Sometimes it would get so cold outside, the Kroger’s bags would freeze to his body. He developed a permanent wound around his stoma. Coy was a very sweet man, but he was slow to respond to our supports. He would miss appointments and sometimes even choose jail over alternative care. We were eventually able to help him move into a home through a Housing First program. From there, we were able to help Coy get medical care, including proper supplies for his colostomy and wound care. After six months, he started to heal and the once thought permanent wound improved. I’ll never forget what he told one of our caseworkers as he recognized how he much better he was doing. “I didn’t think I could get better.” I love these words because they reveal at least two things. One was a truth about Coy’s past. After a life of terrible suffering, he assumed his life would always be bad. His life, to him, seemed like it had no possibilities, so why even make an effort? But the second was a statement of awe. He saw himself getting better. He was beginning to believe again. He found hope. Coy had been in and out of jail many times while homeless. What helped him was not another fine. Not another jail cell. What helped him was a home, and a doctor, and people who cared about him. Please vote no on HB1662. |