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There used to be a holiday tradition in Precious Sarver’s home. Two Christmas trees. One for her, one for the kids.
This year, there’s only one tree.
It cost $5 at the dollar store. And it’s sitting on a table in the family’s eastside hotel room, where they’ve been living for more than a month.
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“I do everything right,” Sarver said through tears, “and I end up here.”
Sarver, 46, said she and her three children had no choice after a landlord forced them out in hopes of charging more in rent to the next tenant.
Sarver spent some time looking for another place to live, but even the search is expensive. She estimated spending a couple hundred dollars just on application fees. The housing search became even more difficult after the death of her mother.
Now, Sarver is paying $343 each week for the hotel room. There are two full beds, an air mattress, TV, fridge and microwave.
Precious Sarver said that her oldest was insistent on having a tree. “We could still do a tree. We could put it on the table,” Sarver said, quoting her son. The Christmas tree is pictured on Dec. 9, 2025, in the family’s eastside hotel room in Indianapolis. Credit: Brett Phelps/Mirror Indy/CatchLight Local/Report for America
“Look where I’m at,” she said. “I never would’ve thought in a million years that I’d be homeless.”
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Sarver has already told her kids that Christmas will have to wait this year. That was after not being able to make them a Thanksgiving meal.
But the tree wasn’t optional. It’s an all-white miniature version, sharing table space with boxes of cereal and paper plates. The family loves the holiday season. Her oldest son counts down the days until B105.7 FM starts playing Christmas music.
“We do the Christmas thing,” Sarver said.
The only thing missing from the tree is ornaments. Those are sitting in one of the two storage units that Sarver is paying $180 for each month.
‘I can’t be the only one’
Sarver said she’s not the only one struggling at the hotel. There’s a mother with five or six kids, and another woman who just gave birth.
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“I can’t be the only one,” she said. “I gotta imagine older people going through this is insane.”
They’re part of what homelessness advocates sometimes call the “hidden homeless.” They live out of their cars or double up with friends and family. Or, in Sarver’s case, they end up in an extended-stay hotel.
Precious Sarver asked the hotel management to bring a heater into the room, as the boiler in the building has a crack, according to her. The heater is pictured on Dec. 9, 2025. Credit: Brett Phelps/Mirror Indy/CatchLight Local/Report for America
“Most of the people that clean this place live here with their kids,” she said.
Even outside of the hotel, Sarver can see the extent of the homelessness crisis in Indianapolis. There’s a woman who sits in the cold with a blanket, Sarver said, and no socks.
“So I stopped and gave her a McChicken,” she said. “I don’t have anything else.”
‘I know God’s got a plan’
Sarver said she takes pride in doing the right thing: paying bills on time, helping others, volunteering at a local school.
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Things only got worse for Sarver’s family when she accidentally dropped $520 in the hotel hallway.
Security footage shows a man picking it up and walking away.
“That was my phone bill, food money, gas,” she said.
Precious Sarver sits on a bed in the extended stay hotel room she rents on Dec. 9, 2025. Credit: Brett Phelps/Mirror Indy/CatchLight Local/Report for America
That money also could have helped Sarver cover a security deposit, which she said is one of the biggest obstacles between her family and a home. Plus, Sarver has a nerve condition in both legs that requires her to use a cane, so finding a home isn’t only about money. She also needs something accessible.
Sarver collects about $1,900 a month in disability payments between her and her youngest son, who has special needs. And she gets help paying rent through the Indianapolis Housing Agency’s Section 8 program.
But the program doesn’t help with a security deposit.
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For that, Sarver said she’d need to come up with about $1,700.
It’s hard to see where that money will come from.
“But I know God’s got a plan,” she said. “It’s gotta be something else for us.”
Mirror Indy, a nonprofit newsroom, is funded through grants and donations from individuals, foundations and organizations.
Mirror Indy reporter Tyler Fenwick covers housing and labor. Contact him at 317-766-1406 or tyler.fenwick@mirrorindy.org. Follow him on X @ty_fenwick and Bluesky @tyfenwick.bsky.social.
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Six women opted not to swim the 50 fly tonight, with Torri Huske, Erika Pelaez, and Liberty Clark all choosing to swim the 100 free A-final instead. They are the 7th, 8th, and 5th seed, respectively. Kristina Paegle and Anna Peplowski have likewise chosen the 100 free over the 50 fly, where they’re the 9th and 12th seeds for tonight.
On the men’s side, the only scratches come from the 100 breast, where American record holder Michael Andrew has decided to swim the 50 fly. He’ll be in lane 5 for that event tonight. Charlie Egeland has also scratched out of the 100 breast, which means his meet has come to an end.
INDIANAPOLIS — The Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department has installed a new public safety camera in downtown Indy.
The camera is positioned at the intersection of W Washington Street and N Illinois Street. It’s the third camera installed along Washington Street in the last three months.
IMPD Downtown District Commander Shane Foley told FOX 59 that they’ve had a lot of success with these cameras so far in identifying suspects involved in crimes.
“We’ve been able to make arrests because the cameras are there,” Foley said. “If the cameras weren’t there, there are certain situations we would not be able to make arrests.”
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The area of Washington and Illinois Streets is one of the most travelled parts of downtown Indianapolis. Foley said adding a camera in this spot emphazies it’s importance.
“It’s important to have this tool to monitor activity,” said Foley, adding that the camera offers them five different angles of surveillance.
The streams from the cameras are monitored by IMPD’s real-time crime center and officers on the streets. Officers can be alerted to incidents from the video before 911 is called.
The Conrad Hotel funded the installation of the camera. They’re hoping the investment will help officers patrol the area and make the city safer.
Watch as Lucas Oil Stadium builds a pool for the USA Olympic swim team trials
Indianapolis is hosting the 2024 U.S. Olympic Team Trials at Lucas Oil Stadium this year from June 15-23. According to USA Swimming’s website, this is the first time the event will be staged on a football field.
Kate Douglass set a new world record in the women’s 50-meter freestyle at the TYR Pro Swim Series.
She finished the race in 23.59 seconds, breaking the previous record held by Sarah Sjöström.
INDIANAPOLIS — Five-time Olympic gold medalist Kate Douglass made history Friday night at the TYR Pro Swim Series, becoming the fastest woman ever in the 50-meter freestyle.
Douglass touched the wall in 23.59 seconds at the Indiana University Natatorium, shaving two hundredths of a second off the previous world record of 23.61 set by Sweden’s Sarah Sjöström at the 2023 World Aquatics Championships.
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“I think I’m still in shock,” Douglass said during a post-race interview. “I don’t know what to say.”
The crowd erupted as Douglass looked up at the scoreboard, taking in the significance of her swim. She edged teammate Gretchen Walsh, who finished second in 23.78. Walsh’s time also bettered the previous American record of 23.91, which she and Douglass had shared, but it wasn’t enough to catch Douglass’ world-record performance.
“(I) did not expect a world record in 50 free like ever in my life,” she said.
Known more for her success in the 200-meter breaststroke, where she owns the American record and won Olympic gold, Douglass has built a reputation as one of the sport’s most versatile swimmers. Her latest accomplishment came in one of swimming’s purest sprint events, further showcasing her range.
“I think I just nailed the breakout and I just really accelerated toward the finish,” Douglass said. “I think it’s cool to be able to swim a bunch of different things.”
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The swim may also alter her plans for the remainder of the season.
“I don’t think I was planning on doing the 50 free much this summer in August,” Douglass said. “Now maybe we’re rethinking that.”
