IU Indianapolis ASL Program Cut Due to State Budget Policy | WFYI News Now
Transcript
This is WFYI News Now. It's July 29th and I'm Aana Herren. On today's show, a large gap still exists between the typical renters's wage and the cost of a two-bedroom apartment in Indiana. Bubba Wallace becomes the first black driver to win a major race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. And a new policy in the state budget means the only American sign language interpreting program at a public university in Indiana will be cut.
It's more of the basically daily life that will significantly be impacted. >> Those stories coming up. But first, a Fountain Square encampment for people experiencing homelessness will close next month. That's according to a spokesperson for the Indianapolis Office of Public Health and Safety, OPS, and the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department noticed the camp on Friday, July 25th, said the spokesperson. The camp has also been in recent news reports as residents voiced growing safety concerns.
The agency monitored the camp and cited public safety issues. The camp is a thin strip of land bounded by Interstate 65, Virginia Avenue, and Leonard Street. The Indianapolis Department of Public Works will store personal belongings for individuals leaving the camp for up to 60 days. According to the closure notice, they may be discarded after that. OPS said it will make every effort to work with partners and house people through city housing initiatives.
These include the new streets to home indie initiative, supportive housing, and the city's new master leasing program. The city will permanently close the camp on August 11th. There is still a large gap between what it takes to afford an average two-bedroom apartment in Indiana and the typical Hooser renters's wage. That's in the latest report from the National Lowincome Housing Coalition and Prosperity Indiana. The report shows that someone needs to earn a little more than $22 an hour to afford a two-bedroom apartment at fair market rent in Indiana, but the average Hooser renter earns just over $18 an hour.
Prosperity Indiana's Andrew Bradley says it's a statewide problem. In 90 of Indiana's 92 counties and in 25 of Indiana's 26 metros and the non-metro rest of the state, uh, the average renter doesn't make enough to meet the housing wage needed for a two-bedroom unit. >> Bradley says there are a variety of factors behind the gap, including education policy and economic development strategy. Housing is expensive in Indiana in part because we are not developing and providing enough housing that is affordable at the incomes that Hoosiers make. >> Bradley also reiterated a call for the governor to create a state housing commission to explore potential solutions.
Bubba Wallace became the first black driver to win a major race on Indianapolis Motor Speedways 2.5 mile oval at the Brickyard 400 this weekend. Wallace survived a late rain delay, two overtimes, concerns over running out of fuel, and a hard charging Kyle Larson on Sunday. The third NASCAR Cup victory for Wallace's career was also his most significant, his first win at one of the series four crown jewel races. It also snapped a 100 race winless streak that dated back to 2022 at Kansas for Wallace. And for our final story today, the only American Sign Language interpreting program at a public university in Indiana will be cut as a result of a new policy in the state budget.
Abigail Roman reports. Advocates say Indiana already had a shortage of interpreters and this will reduce access for the deaf and heart of hearing community. The new state budget requires Indiana's public universities and colleges to eliminate or consolidate degree programs with low enrollment or completion rates. Indiana University Indianapolis will eliminate its American Sign Language English interpreting degree after current students graduate. Jeffrey Bignell is with the Indiana Association of the Deaf.
He says through an interpreter, this cut will limit Indiana's training capacity and lead to fewer interpreters in the state. Bnell says this will mean more issues accessing health care, education, and employment for deaf individuals. >> It's more of the basically daily life that will significantly be impacted. >> Big says the state may have to bring in more interpreters from out of state. That means covering their travel, which Bignell says will end up costing the state more in the long run.
I'm Abigail Rumman. Biggnull says the Indiana University Indianapolis program is the only one offered outside of Northern Indiana, which he says could make it harder to get interpreters to the parts of the state where they are needed the most. That's all for today's episode of WFYI News. Now, our podcast is produced by Drew Dodlin and Zack Bundy with support from the news team at WFYI and public media journalists across the state. Our news director is Sarah Neil Estes.
Kindle Antron produced our music and I'm your host, Aana Heron. If you like today's episode, remember to subscribe and share and follow WFYI on Instagram, Tik Tok, Facebook, and YouTube to check in on our newsroom throughout the day. Thanks for listening. We'll be back tomorrow.