UPDATE (September 10, 2025):
FORT WAYNE, Ind. (ADAMS) – The City of Fort Wayne’s Homeless Services Manager provided an update about ongoing efforts to address homelessness at Tuesday’s Fort Wayne City Council meeting.
It came after Councilmen Russ Jehl and Scott Myers began a public exchange of communications with the City, criticizing a response they say is behind others in the state in dealing with the issue of homelessness.
“Addressing the issue of homelessness has been and continues to be a leading priority. Leaders within City government, as well as the nonprofit and private sectors, are actively working to address the homelessness challenge with compassion and urgency,” said Mayor Tucker. “Tonight’s presentation from our manager of homeless services sent a powerful message for how much my team and I care about people and why we’re so passionate about improving the lives of individuals and families in our community. We know there’s more work ahead, but past work, current initiatives, and future plans as part of our comprehensive and proactive strategy, will set us on a positive course for a better tomorrow.”
The following was released by the City:
Fort Wayne Mayor Sharon Tucker has prioritized finding solutions to address homelessness and six months ago the Office of Housing and Neighborhood Services hired the City’s first Homeless Services Manager, Amanda Fall. At the invitation of City Council, Fall provided a brief update about her work to coordinate services, collaborate with nonprofit and private partners, and develop a community strategy to address the issue.
Information provided to City Council and the public included the following:
• Progress over the last several years has included the development of the Everyone Home community strategy to address and end homelessness, and as part of the strategy, multiple committees are working on the complex issues surrounding homelessness. Currently, 87 affordable housing units are under construction, and 94 homeless individuals have recently found housing through a partnership with InAsMuch Ministry.
• The Homeless Services Manager has three goals for the first year of work: develop strategies to reduce homelessness, improve the homelessness continuum of care and service delivery, and create a coordinated encampment strategy.
• The encampment strategy includes the creation of both an Encampment Task Force and a multi-agency encampment services team specializing in triage centered interventions, encampment tracking and collaborating to find available shelter and housing for those living in encampments.
• Since Fall has assumed the new position, she has worked with partners to get as close to an accurate count of unhoused people as possible. The current estimate is 2,250 people living either in emergency shelters, vehicles, outside, or hotels. Included in this estimate is the 1,107 households Fort Wayne Community Schools reported in May as not having a permanent address.
• Now that a more accurate estimate of the population exists, strategies are being developed for the variety of challenges facing each individual.
Next steps include: increasing the number of emergency shelter beds, creating options for low-barrier shelters, continuing work to increase affordable housing options and securing funding for software to measure success and inform City Council and public with real time data.
“We all know that the challenges surrounding homelessness are not unique to Fort Wayne and that finding real solutions is a complex task requiring compassion, collaboration, time and money from the community,” said Fall. “The City of Fort Wayne, along with many dedicated nonprofit staff and volunteers, is working diligently to find solutions, and I know that with the support of both the public and private sectors we can make real progress toward preventing and ending homelessness.”
UPDATE (September 3, 2025):
The Fort Wayne City Attorney responded to a letter sent and made public by Councilman Russ Jehle and Councilman Myers regarding homeless encampments and how the City handles homelessness in general.
Jehle and Myers wanted leaders to consider allowing police to remove encampments. Such actions are often called “sweeps” or “abatements.”
The following was issued by the City of Fort Wayne:
CITY OF FORT WAYNE
September 2, 2025
SHARON TUCKER, MAYOR
Dear Councilman Jehl and Councilman Myers:
Thank you for your letter dated August 25, 2025, requesting the Administration’s assessment of the efficacy of our current solutions to homelessness in our community. The Administration is pleased that Council shares the Administration’s commitment to identify and implement solutions and appreciates the opportunity to update you on our current efforts and future initiatives. Our plan is to continue our collaborative work with City Council and other invested parties to address this important issue impacting our community.
“Homelessness is complex. Its causes are many. So may be the public policy responses required to address it.”1
A recent Supreme Court of the United States (“SCOTUS”) decision addressed ordinances prohibiting camping in public areas under the US Constitution. The Court determined municipalities may enforce ordinances prohibiting sleeping or camping on public property, even when the individual lacks alternative shelter, without violating certain constitutional rights.2 This decision, while clarifying the scope of local authority, continues to pose significant challenges for communities across the nation, including Fort Wayne.
In practice, a community’s response to homelessness should center on two key priorities that must work together:
1. Clearing and removing encampments from and ensuring public safety in the public space; and
2. Providing adequate alternatives—such as shelter and wraparound services for individuals experiencing homelessness.
The Administration is committed to continuing the pursuit of a multifaceted approach that reinforces our commitment to public safety while offering alternative solutions for the homeless.
Current Enforcement Activities
Presently, the Administration addresses homelessness through enforcement of existing ordinances. The Fort Wayne Police Department (“FWPD”) enforces Fort Wayne City Code (“City Code”) Chapter 130 and Chapter 97, which prohibit sleeping in a public place and erecting a tent or other temporary structure
1 City of Grant’s Pass v. Johnson et al, 144 S. Ct. 2202, 2226 (2024) (Gorsuch, J.). 2 Id. The Court only addressed whether the ordinance was a violation of the Eighth Amendment’s protection against cruel and unusual punishment. The Court declines to address other constitutional violations.
Following that letter, Councilmen Russell Jehl and Scott Myers put out the following:
The response is a bit of a head scratcher. By dismissing both President Trump’s and Governor Newsom’s approaches, Fort Wayne remains without a practical policy, or even a common starting point. It will be difficult to build consensus in the community and on Council if cleaning up encampments and making downtown safe again are not urgent priorities. We concur with the Administration that we all need to keep working on this issue collaboratively to ensure the best outcome for all.
ORIGINAL STORY:
FORT WAYNE, Ind. (ADAMS) – Two Fort Wayne City Councilmen are expressing their concerns with local homeless encampments.
Russ Jehl and Scott Myers say Fort Wayne is behind others in the state in dealing with the issue.
They want to allow police to be able to remove encampments. Such actions are often called “sweeps” or “abatements.”
Research shows that those are often ineffective and worsen conditions for those experiencing homelessness.
Councilmen Jehl and Myers released the following statement after sending M,ayor Sharon Tucker a letter about the issue:
On Monday, Councilmen Russell Jehl and Scott Myers delivered a letter to City Attorney Malak Heiny calling for a review of the City of Fort Wayne’s strategy for the legality and strategy for addressing encampments, which have become prevalent in the community.
We have asked the City Attorney and Administration to look at two divergent approaches to ongoing vagrancy and public camping and provide perspective on the direction the community should go.
These approaches, one championed by California Governor Gavin Newsom, the other by President Donald Trump, provide very different guidance on how to approach issues created by continued encampments on public property.
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