The city of DeLand, Florida, has passed a series of measures to curb homelessness, including making camping on public land illegal.
There are about 400 homeless people in DeLand, a city of about 37,000 people, and after eight years of failing to reduce the homeless population, officials said it was time to take tougher measures.
by Daytona Beach News Journal, DeLand has seen an increase in homeless residents threatening and harassing business owners and their employees, as well as sleeping in public areas. An increasing number of homeless people are urinating and defecating on sidewalks near businesses.
City leaders have signed new measures that will allow for more police intervention to curb the problem. The new law prohibits camping on public property for more than 24 hours and prohibits lying on public sidewalks, roads, alleys and benches. Residents are also prohibited from leaving their belongings in public places for more than 24 hours.
This action was reported by Click on Orlando Prevents you from storing personal items in your shopping cart.according to legal serverUnder Florida law, anyone who is “in possession of a shopping cart, laundry cart, dairy case, egg basket, chicken box, or bakery container” belonging to a registered business is presumed to be in possession of stolen property. It is stipulated that
“This is a step, not a solution,” City Commissioner Kevin Reed said.
“This is an important first step,” added Mayor Chris Cloudman.
At the same time, Daytona Beach opens its doors to DeLand’s homeless population.
The First Step Shelter has 100 beds and a fenced-in “safe zone” outside where homeless people can stay overnight. Anyone inside the zone can leave at any time. However, those who wish to sleep in evacuation centers will need to work on a work plan to secure housing.
More than 600 people have successfully transitioned into housing through this program.
DeLand will be paid just under $70,000 a year to help run the First Step Shelter.
City Attorney Darren Elkind disputed the idea that homeless people in the area would be arrested in the future because of their circumstances.
“This is not, ‘If you’re homeless in DeLand, that’s what we do.'” [going to] Arrest them and take them to jail. ‘That’s not what’s happening,’ the city official said, ‘If you have a place for me to go, you’ll take me there, and it won’t cost me any money, but I won’t.” [want to] Go, and you’ll be able to arrest those people. ”
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