Arrests Are Up. Homelessness Is Rising. And Unhoused People Are Paying the Price for Bad Policy.
Between July 15, 2024, and July 2, 2025, there has been an average of one unhoused person cited or arrested for unlawful “camping” each day. Across 30 different counties, 425 unlawful camping charges have made their way through district court in the span of one year – 393 for a first offense, 27 for a second/subsequent offense, and five for “refusal to cease offense.”
The Statute 511.110 for Unlawful Camping states that a person is guilty of unlawful camping when they “knowingly enter or remain in a public area with ‘the intent to sleep or camp there’, with the definition of ‘camp’ including using ‘camp paraphernalia’ such as sleeping bags.”
The penalty for unlawful camping is a fine of up to $250 and requires appearing in district court. It becomes a Class B misdemeanor for a second/subsequent offense or through a “refusal to cease offense”, which results in an arrest and a maximum punishment of up to 90 days in jail.
According to the Kentucky Center for Economic Policy, “evidence so far suggests the new law increases unhoused people’s involvement in the criminal legal system while providing few to no opportunities for housing.”
Those cited or arrested may have the opportunity for their case to be dismissed if they comply with filling out a housing assessment, obtaining a photo ID, and working with a provider.
However, “even if cited individuals are able to make it to all of their court dates, and meet the necessary requirements, service providers report that only a handful now have housing. Without affordable housing, access to housing vouchers, and additional case management, a person whose case is resolved through the ‘camping court’ is still vulnerable to additional unlawful camping citations and arrests.”
According to the statewide K-Count, 5,789 unhoused people were counted on a single night. Data shows that 54% were in shelters, while 10% were in transitional housing. The remaining 2,000, or 34% were street homeless.
According to K-Count, Jefferson County shelters are full every night. Many counties have no shelters at all. Furthermore, homelessness is increasing in Kentucky.
Data clearly shows that criminalizing homeless people through a camping ban does not reduce homelessness in Kentucky. Worse yet, it’s more likely to further increase the challenges of finding housing in the future, due to the newly imposed criminal record. In short, this bill worsens homelessness in Kentucky.
Criminalization Out of Control, Terrorizing Unhoused People
In January, Invisible People interviewed and shared Craig’s story, a man in Lexington, Kentucky, who received five citations in just one week for simply existing while homeless. He was cited for things like waiting for a bus and helping his friend at a hospital.
Craig was arrested and handcuffed, pushed face down into the snow by police officers, and left handcuffed for three hours in five-degree weather with no hat, no gloves, freezing. He also details his friend collapsing from exhaustion in front of a hospital, and the hospital’s security staff responded by screaming at the friend to get up.
“Society is creating homeless people,” Craig said. “How can we pull ourselves up by our bootstraps when we don’t even have boots?”
Service Providers and Unhoused Clients Face a Mountain of Challenges
We had the privilege of speaking with Anyiah Chambers, Street Outreach Navigator of Homeless and Housing Coalition of Kentucky, who provided us with extensive details about House Bill 5 and the challenges service providers, and their unhoused clients are facing.
“Since stepping into this role, I’ve seen this issue unfold firsthand,” Chambers shared in an exclusive interview with Invisible People. “I’ve worked with numerous clients across Franklin, Jessamine, Mercer, and surrounding counties who are either already facing these charges or living in constant fear of them.”
Chambers highlighted the severe lack of shelter space, as well as the challenges that come with trying to access it.
“For those working night shifts or third-shift jobs, the strict curfews enforced by many shelters make it nearly impossible to stay,” she said. “Transitional housing is scarce, and for many, staying with friends or family isn’t an option due to burned bridges, substance use recovery, or unresolved trauma.”
Criminalization Worsens Homelessness
Chambers went on to explain how charges like these only make it that much more challenging for people to exit homelessness.
“A criminal record, even a misdemeanor for something like unlawful camping, becomes a permanent scarlet letter,” she said. “Suddenly, applying for housing, going to job interviews, or accessing benefits becomes even more difficult. One minor charge can close major doors, and it traps people in a cycle they can’t climb out of.”
Criminalization still has wider consequences.
“Criminalizing homelessness doesn’t just punish individuals, it undermines public health, safety, and community trust. People experiencing homelessness already face overwhelming barriers: lack of ID, untreated mental health challenges, deep trauma, substance use struggles, stigma, and a critical shortage of resources,” Chambers said.
For unhoused people, accessing shelter, hygiene, food, and employment opportunities is difficult. Criminalization makes those obstacles even larger.
“Without a stable address, getting a job becomes nearly impossible. Without work, there’s no way to afford housing. Without housing, there’s no way to stabilize. It’s a vicious cycle, and jail time and fines only deepen the wound,” Chambers said.
House Bill 5 Ignores the Truth About Homelessness – It Is A Systemic Issue
“Homelessness doesn’t happen in a vacuum,” Chambers continued. “It’s caused by real, systemic problems: no affordable housing, untreated mental illness, addiction without support, jobs that don’t pay enough, broken reentry systems. But instead of addressing any of that, this bill turns struggling people into criminals.”
“Instead of investing in real solutions like housing programs, treatment, or job support, this bill pours money and energy into arresting people for trying to survive,” she said. “That’s not a solution. It’s a distraction.”
To deny systemic causes of poverty and homelessness puts us all at risk.
Criminalization is Trending
When we blame and punish homeless people for being homeless, when we turn poverty into a crime, we are putting so many people at risk, including ourselves. Why? Because we are letting policymakers off the hook. We are letting billionaires like those at the Cicero Institute win.
According to Housing Not Handcuffs, “we face a growing, billionaire-backed foe with deep ties to the White House. The Cicero Institute, led by billionaire venture capitalist and Palantir co-founder Joe Lonsdale, is making headway in their use of cookie-cutter, racist, and backwards policies in states across the country.”
“Needless to say, these and similar laws waste taxpayer money, redirect money away from proven housing solutions, and make homelessness worse. These laws hurt us all, but they hurt Black and other communities of color, as well as migrants and people with disabilities, first and worst.”
When we turn our backs on unhoused citizens, not only are we turning our backs on the most vulnerable individuals in our community, but we are also turning our backs on our neighbors, our friends, our families, and even ourselves. Every day, we are seeing the worst of criminalization, and the impact of policies like those in House Bill 5.
