Fear is a continual barrier to progress in our state. Fear pushes people away from communities that need the most help. Fear is the result of a government so indifferent to the struggle of its citizens it chooses to criminalize their actions rather than provide proactive solutions.
Fear creates an environment of ignorance about homelessness in Idaho.
In 2025, over 9,000 Idahoans sought homelessness services and at any given night roughly 3,000 Idahoans went to bed in a shelter or outside, according to a study conducted by The Idaho Housing and Finance Association. The unhoused crisis is one of the most urgent matters in Idaho politics and recent legislation enforcement is one of the driving factors in its growth.
After two violent attacks occurred on the Greenbelt earlier this summer, Idaho’s governmental agencies took measures to increase security around the Greenbelt. This manifested through the increased enforcement of pre-existing House Bill 1141, commonly referred to as the Galloway Bill, which authorizes a statewide ban of unauthorized outdoor habitation including tents, public camping, sleeping or other temporary accommodations.
State Representative Mike Moyle explained his issues with the City of Boise’s lack of enforcement for the Galloway Bill in a press release where he stated, “The law doesn’t need to be strengthened or changed — it just needs to be followed.” Legislators like Moyle believe that this could have been a preventable issue, paving the way for more rigorous enforcement of the law in Boise.
When enforced, the bill results in a $10 ticket which can total over $50 with added fees. The result of the legislation created unprecedented struggles for both individuals and shelters throughout Idaho.
“Now that the law has been consistently enforced it’s made people scatter,” Jessica Abbot, executive director at Corpus Commons, a day time homeless shelter in Boise, said, describing how engaging with and locating guests has become a difficult task due to new public enforcement of the bill. “They might be in a day and then they go and hide in places that aren’t feasible. It’s pushed them out further towards the river, towards Nampa and other spaces along the Greenbelt.”
Abbott explains many guests find locations farther away from law enforcement and stay constantly moving on-foot to prevent possible citations. With increasing temperature and decreasing air quality, the unpredictability of when guests come and go at day shelters could be the difference between life and death for these individuals.
After the Galloway law was originally passed in 2025, Abbott said that most of the responsibility to care for these communities was left up to shelters all around Idaho. Without outside funding, raising money, providing resources and finding volunteers becomes a difficult task that many local shelters struggle to sustain.
“There’s concerns there, and in that we totally understand,” said Abbott. “But criminalizing and punishing somebody for going through a crisis is not a solution.”
The inability for cooperation between state legislators and local shelters creates a barrier that impedes further coordination on how these individuals can get the resources they need.
“Homelessness can happen to anyone,” Kristin Contreras, shelter coordinator in Caldwell for Advocates Against Family Violence, said of the societal stigma surrounding homelessness. “A lot of the phone calls and the questionnaires that we’ve been getting are from people who are just homeless and have had sexual violence in their past.”
Contreras explained the mentality of looking the other way is harmful due to its inaction and creates large barriers in advocating for these communities. The continuous cycle of passivity drowns out the work done by both independent and federally funded organizations in Idaho.
The mayor’s Advisor on Homelessness in the city, Jessica Barawed, provided a statement on the City of Boise’s path to investing in these individuals.
“We believe lasting solutions require both safe public spaces and meaningful pathways to shelter and permanent housing,” Barawed explains.
These pathways include the city’s Our Path Home program which is a public-private partnership between Boise and Ada county to aid in the prevention of homelessness. Through temporary rental assistance, financial aid for utility bills and partnership work alongside landlords for eviction-prevention, Our Path Home assisted thousands of Idahoans receive resources.
The Galloway Law continues to halt preventable action against homelessness and its consequences have pushed many shelters three steps back in the process. Change in Idaho starts with individuals, who advocate, donate, volunteer and ultimately ask more of our politicians, to protect all Idahoans.
