Homeless center debate heats up • Flock cam funding on hold • New local vendor market + Middle Waves!
Hey Locals,
After a heated debate about the Allen County quarry, we find ourselves in another local quarrel, this time regarding the city’s proposed homeless services center Downtown. In recent weeks, local businesses and organizations have formed coalitions both for and against the project, and last weekend, several small businesses and individuals spoke out on social media. We recap what to know – and what locals are saying at tonight’s City Council meeting – in Above the Fold.
In Briefs, we update you on the status of the FWPD’s controversial Flock camera contract set to come before City Council (again) in July. Plus, we have fun features on a new local retail market later this summer, as well as an opportunity to play some locally made games.
In our To Do List, there are more new restaurants to try and lots of ways to enjoy live music outdoors – not the least of which is Middle Waves Music Fest this weekend!
Now, let’s get started.
NOTE: Links to Journal Gazette articles are marked(*) and may be behind a paywall.
Homeless center debate heats up:
Groups for and against the project speak out.
What's happening?
In recent weeks, the question of whether to house the city’s future homeless services center Downtown at 333 E. Washington Blvd. (near the Rescue Mission) has drawn both supporters and critics.
- Following questions about the location from City Council in early May, the city shared statements from nine organizations Downtown that support its new Anchor Resource Center.
- Last week, we learned that a new group formed to oppose the Downtown location. Their concerns include the potential proximity of sex offenders at the center to the nearby St. Paul’s Lutheran School. (See our previous report.)
- Over the weekend, this opposition group, known as Safe Schools Fort Wayne Alliance, took out a full-page ad in The JG and set up an information tent near the YLNI Farmers Market on Saturday. They’re also encouraging residents to attend tonight’s City Council meeting, which includes public comment. Businesses and individuals supporting and opposing the project are taking to social media and local news outlets to share their perspectives, too.
So... what are locals saying about the resource center, and what can we confirm as accurate? What exactly does the city’s proposal entail? And what else should you know about the project before it comes before council for funding later this month?
Stay tuned for Thursday’s newsletter – for paid subscribers only – where we’ll recap the major developments (and what happens at tonight’s meeting).
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- The FWPD’s controversial Flock License Plate Recognition (LPR) cameras are at risk of being defunded by City Council due to a lack of public information and citizen concerns about surveillance. In 2024, the FWPD launched its Flock program without informing the public and City Council. (Its initial contracts were primarily funded by a grant and/or did not exceed the $100K threshold to require council’s approval.) Now that these contracts are set to expire at the end of 2026, citizens are asking council to carefully review Flock’s practices before allowing the FWPD to renew its contract, or risk “destroy(ing) public trust.” Since launching in 2017 as a venture-capital-funded startup, Flock has gotten flack for its security vulnerabilities and questionable business practices across the U.S. Earlier this year, The Local received several reader emails about the subject and did a deep dive on the FWPD’s 36 Flock cameras in Fort Wayne, explaining the benefits and risks. The FWPD is requesting more than $120K to renew its contract, claiming the LPRs help reduce crime. Initially, council rejected the measure 5-4, but ultimately delayed its vote until July 14 to allow the FWPD more time to address civil liberties concerns. The FWPD also recently launched a 90-day pilot program to test Flock’s new audio system on its cameras, which originally only captured still images.
- An arts venue is opening a new regularly occurring vendor market for local retail later this summer* in the 46807. Wunderkammer Co. previously hosted a “Mosaic Market” in 2020 and recently received a $5,000 Creative Convergence Early Action grant from the Indiana Arts Commission to continue the project, which features several local vendors, as well as a new retail incubator program in partnership with the coworking space Start Fort Wayne. Dan Swartz, Founder of Wunderkammer, also serves as Executive Director of Start Fort Wayne.
- Fort Wayne’s first black homebuilder was recently honored in a ceremony held by several local organizations to preserve his legacy. Indiana Landmarks Black Heritage Preservation Program (ILBHPP) hosted the event to honor homebuilder, Roosevelt Barnes Sr., in Brewer Park alongside the Fort Wayne Committee, the African American Genealogical Society of Fort Wayne, and ARCH Inc. Barnes built more than 40 homes and several churches by 1970 in what is now known as the Southern Heights Neighborhood of Fort Wayne. Indiana Landmarks plans to place Southern Heights on a historic registry and wants to preserve Barnes’s work by documenting every home he built into a national database.
- With teens out of school for summer, Fort Wayne leaders are seeking ways to keep them safe and engaged. Last August, Mayor Sharon Tucker’s Youth Violence Prevention Program set aside $125K in microgrants for organizations working directly with teens. One grant recipient, All the Rage, a local rage room, received an $8K grant to offer free rage rooms and guided paint sessions for teens through the end of the year. They’ll also be opening a new “debriefing” room where teens can journal, use sensory tools and talk through their emotions after rage room sessions.
- Unemployment in Fort Wayne fell to 2.4%* in April – half a percentage point lower than in 2025. The Fort Wayne metro area saw 5.7K workers unemployed in a labor force of 236K, with nearly 775 fewer workers than the 237K represented in April 2025 and a total number of employed workers adding up to just more than 230K. Rachel Blakeman, Director of Purdue Fort Wayne’s Community Research Institute, says steady employment totals may point to potential job seekers taking a break from their search or college students not yet actively looking for employment in April. Statewide, unemployment in April was 2.8%, and nationally it was 4%.
- Fort Wayne area game makers are sharing their creations at a new free, public event called Fort Cade at the ACPL’s Main Branch on June 13, noon-5 p.m. The local group Fort Wayne Game Devs is inviting people of all ages to enjoy a showcase of local and regionally made games available to be played, as well as hourly talks from industry developers, teachers and more. The ACPL’s Meeting Rooms A and B will host developers and games, where attendees can participate in a "stamp rally raffle" by collecting stamps at each game table for a chance to win a small prize, a news release says. Meeting Room C will host hourly talks and presentations about game development including how to start making games and how a local high school teacher is using games as creative writing tools, a news release says. More information here.
What else? Free meals at local libraries and new features for Citilink buses. We share additional, even brief(er) briefs for paid subscribers only!
- Party: at the Middle Waves Music Festival on June 6 at Headwaters Park, featuring bands Passion Pit, Beach Bunny, Man of the Flood, The Paradox, and Los Aptos. ($55)
- Eat: at the first Lunch on the Square of the season on June 4 at 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. at Freimann Square, featuring a lunchtime concert with Alicia Pyle and the Locals and food trucks, including Bahn Mi, Big Eyed Fish, and The Creperie.
- Listen: to an outdoor concert at the Botanical Conservatory’s Back to Our Roots events on Thursday nights in their Prado garden. June 4 at 6:30 p.m. offers a live performance by Ethan William Bowers. ($1 admission)
- Dance: all day at Electric Riverfront on June 6, 3 p.m.-9 p.m. The free public event brings DJ’s, dancing, and a silent disco to Promenade Park.
- Try: a new restaurant, Saffron Indian Cuisine at 9910 Illinois Rd., offering fusion dishes in an upscale casual dining room.
- Meet friends: at a free, public BYO Picnic event in the parking lot of Holy Cross Lutheran Church on June 6 at 6:30 p.m. “Bring your own dinner picnic, lawn chairs, or blankets. Yard games will be provided. Also in attendance will be Travelin' Tom's Coffee and Snoballs Hawaiian Shaved Ice,” organizers say.
What else? Le Tour De Fort returns and new trails to explore. We share additional things To Do for paid subscribers only!
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-Your Editor, Kara Hackett
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