Kentucky's statewide law banning unauthorized outdoor camping, House Bill 5, went into effect last summer. Since then, more than 400 people have been charged, and advocates argue the crackdown has driven more people into hiding, making it more difficult for service providers to reach them.
As for the president's executive order, the Catholic Action Center's Ginny Ramsey describes it as "House Bill 5 on steroids."
"It's not who we are as community and it's heartbreaking," she says.
The Trump administration argues prioritizing money for programs that require sobriety and treatment, and for cities that enforce camping bans, is about public safety and cutting down on vagrancy, disorderly behavior, and violent attacks.
Ramsey counters that the federal shift toward Kentucky-style policies is based on a flawed picture of the people the policies most directly affect. The Trump order says nearly two-thirds of those experiencing homelessness report using hard drugs, and an equally large percentage suffer from mental health conditions. Ramsey challenges those stats, but she says it's important to keep in mind those who are on the streets simply because they are poor.
"Our elderly and disabled and our families, the increased amount of them experiencing homelessness, they're in the direct line of fire of that executive order," she says.
Meanwhile, Kentucky Republicans who backed the state law with the anti-camping provision say it's working — not only in decreasing the encampments, but in protecting property and creating more incentives to get treatment.
Opponents say it's pushing an already vulnerable population further into the shadows.