BOISE, Idaho — Idaho's unhoused population is keeping a close eye on Senate Bill 1141 — which aims to ban camping and sleeping on public property in large cities like Boise. The bill would make it illegal to sleep in a tent, car, RV or on the ground on any public property or road.
“I think I counted, I’m probably well over 1,000 nights outside, no tent, over the last five years," said Tom West, a self-proclaimed 21st-century American hobo who now calls Boise home.
He shared his experience being homeless since 2019.
“The hardest part is being cold and wet and hungry. The three combined are miserable. Nobody would choose that... They end up like this for a lot of different reasons, very few of them are truly by choice," said West.
He says all sorts of situations can lead people to become homeless, and that experience unfortunately is becoming more common.
“Right now the homeless population or the hobo population or whatever you want to classify it as is growing, and it’s going to continue growing," added West.
Tom and I met up on Monday and made our way to the weekly camping gear raffle near many of the shelters in Downtown Boise.
“It’s all run by community donations, which is a big thing, so we’ll just hand out tents and sleeping bags and tarps," said Chloe, a volunteer helping homeless folks get camping gear they need.
She says people camping out is essentially unavoidable.
“The shelters are all completely full to capacity. We hear those stories time and time again. A lot of folks need to camp out, and that’s just the reality of it," said Chloe.
But Senate Bill 1141 would make camping or sleeping in cities with populations over 100,000, like Boise, illegal if it’s signed into law.
“It would be completely devastating," added Chloe.
“Well for us homeless people, where are we supposed to sleep if the shelters are full? Where do you expect us to sleep," said Gwen Dominy, who primarily lives in Boise's Interfaith Sanctuary.
“I’d have to leave the state because I don’t have any other options. Just banning camping wherever you can sleep comfortably, that’s just oppressive," said Cole Johnson, who primarily lives in his vehicle in Boise.
“If you’re going to take away, you got to give something back. You got to give an alternative. Give people somewhere for them to go that’s safe," said West.
Tom tells me teaching people how to build a safe place of their own to sleep may be a solution.
“And that’s what I want to do here in Idaho is build tiny houses, one for myself, and as soon as that’s done, I’ll start building them for other people," added West.
Idaho News 6 reached out to Republican bill sponsor Sen. Codi Galloway multiple times for an interview about the goal of the bill, but haven’t heard back.
“There is a solution to homelessness. It’s housing, and it’s making housing available to people," added Chloe.
Senate Bill 1141 passed the Senate 27-8. It's now awaiting a third reading in the Idaho House.
