Lawmakers explore ways to tackle homelessness in Jackson

• Jackson has the largest homeless population in the state, according to those testifying Tuesday at the Senate Study Committee on Jackson, primarily because it is a transportation hub.

State senators heard from advocates Tuesday morning on why Jackson is seeing an increase in homeless people and heard how the Legislature can assist in combating the capital city’s growing homelessness problem.

Jackson has the largest homeless population in the state, according to those testifying at the Senate Study Committee on Jackson, primarily because it is a transportation hub, with rail and bus services.

The homeless advocates said there is a new population of homeless persons appearing in the city, in addition to the mentally ill and chemically dependent.

Rex Baker with Gateway Rescue Mission said one group of the new homeless population appeared about two to three years ago, when obtaining pseudoephedrine became harder to obtain under a new state law. Now, the chemically dependent homeless are using P2P, which can be made from everyday household items.

Unlike the old meth, which at times made people social, this super meth increases the sense of isolation and paranoia, he said, which makes it harder to help the homeless.

“The saying ‘people don’t get help until they hit bottom’ doesn’t apply. These people have blown past the bottom,” he said.

Rex suggested legislators look to Florida as an example for handling homelessness. The Baker Act allows a 72-hour involuntary hold on anyone deemed by officials, including doctors, mental health practitioners, judges, and law enforcement officers, as a threat to themselves or others. The 1971 act requires that the person be deemed unwilling or unable to seek evaluation on their own voluntarily.

Another possible solution to solve the homeless issue, said Liz Brister, president of Downtown Jackson Partners, is wrap-around services, which have been successful in other major cities, including Houston, Dallas, and Oklahoma City, metroplexes with larger homeless populations than Jackson.

She has been in contact with the Clutch Consulting Group, which, for around $500,000, can assist the capital city in reducing its homelessness over three years. This cost can be offset by existing funds the city and state hold, she said.

The group provides housing and other services, including treatments and transportation, for a period of one year. After that year, the client’s situation is examined to determine if additional services are needed.

Clutch Consulting statistics show that after working in several cities, homelessness has decreased by double-digits, including 23 percent in Dallas and 24 percent in New Orleans.

Capitol Police Chief Bo Luckey said the department hopes to have a panhandling permit process by December 1, as was passed by lawmakers in the 2025 session. Currently, since there is no permit available, officers are asking the homeless to move along, explaining they are committing an illegal act.

Underpasses are a growing area where the homeless are congregating. Officers ask the homeless to move, which they often do, then migrate back to the spot when officers leave, Luckey said.

Of late, Jackson has seen an increase in car and business break-ins committed by the homeless, Luckey added. When an arrest is made, the person is taken to a jail operated by the city of Jackson. Luckey said there is a cooperation between the two law enforcement agencies.

Luckey asked legislators to restore some of the department’s recently cut funding, a recommendation for which was placed in Governor Tate Reeves’ recently released Executive Budget Recommendation. Reeves wants lawmakers to restore $1.5 million while providing another million for operational expenses and upgrades. Most of the legislative cuts came from the salary line item, but Capitol Police are in need of new, qualified members. The department has about 150 employees with roughly 30 vacancies.

To combat the homeless issue, Luckey said he would like to have officers who are trained in dealing with the homeless population. A single homelessness issue takes an officer away from other duties for about 45 minutes. With officers specializing in homelessness issues, it would free up other law enforcement officials to solve other crimes.

“We need well-trained officers to deal with this population,” he said.

The Senators are holding hearings like this one this fall as they consider drafting legislation to be filed when they gavel back into session come January.