Tough-on-crime Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd told FOX News Digital that Florida's new law banning homeless people from sleeping outdoors is clogging sidewalks and public spaces. He said eliminating homelessness will improve the quality of life for ordinary people. they are unpleasant.
But homeless advocates say the law could push unhoused people away from urban areas with vital services, potentially making them “vulnerable to predators.”
The new law, one of the nation's strictest against homelessness, went into effect last week and bans camping on streets, sidewalks and parks. Local authorities will be required to provide temporary housing for the homeless, where personal drug use will be prohibited. They must also undergo substance abuse and mental health treatment.
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Last week, a person slept on a sidewalk in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Supporters of a new state law banning homeless people from sleeping outdoors say removing them from area sidewalks and public spaces will improve quality of life. (AP Photo/Lynn Sladke)
Judd said the law needs to strike the right balance between providing safety for residents walking the streets while also helping those in need. He said he sympathizes with the situation of homeless people, but that doesn't give some homeless people the right to block sidewalks.
“This is important because our families, our children, our wives, our husbands, our lovers, we have no right to step over or walk around a homeless person who has decided to set up camp in the middle of the road. 'Because you have the right to walk on the sidewalk,' Judd said.
“This is a quality of life issue for everyone, and it doesn't give them the right to sleep because they don't want to live in housing and work and live like the rest of America.”Public Walking around in the park, lying on benches, setting up awkward little camps, that's what we've always done here, and at the end of the day my heart breaks. We're going to help them, but they have to help themselves. ”
Although the new law gives authorities the power to arrest people who do not comply with local authorities, Judd said his department regularly conducts homeless outreach operations, where homeless people are arrested, taken to jail, and sentenced to death. He said he would like to avoid a situation where he would end up in prison. system.
“What we strive for is what we have always done. [which] “We're not going to turn the prison into a de facto homeless camp, and that's not going to happen,” Judd said. This part is so cumbersome that it's designed to prevent governments from actually setting up housing camps. ”
“What I hear overwhelmingly is, “I want food, clothing, and shelter, but I don't want to go into a house. I don't want to go to an organized place. I just want to be alone.'' ” So our question is, where do they go?
Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said the law needs to strike the right balance between providing safety for residents walking the streets while also helping those in need. (Fox News Digital)
Martha Ahr, CEO of the Homeless Services Network of Central Florida, told Fox News Digital that the new law will force homeless people off city streets, which could mean the difference between life and death. He said there is. The group works to provide stable long-term housing for people experiencing homelessness in Central Florida.
“Think about the terrible storms that hit the Southeast. If people were experiencing homelessness, isolated, deep in the woods, far from others, hard to find, You may not even have known about the storm. It was coming.”
“They would have been afraid to believe it or hear it. So if they saw a police officer coming out to encourage them to get to a safe place before a storm, they would avoid that police officer and avoid him. You may never have gotten the message. Being completely overwhelmed by the storm is a real-life consequence of this type of law.”
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Allais said the bill would do little to address homelessness, which is largely caused by a lack of affordable housing.
He said the largest homeless population in Florida is seniors, who are often on fixed incomes but whose homes are then priced out and forced onto the streets. Ta. For example, Orange County's population grew by 25% between 2010 and 2020, but its housing stock increased by 15%, she said.
“When you have far more people moving here than there is housing and transportation development, you end up with a mismatch,” Allais said. “So you have a more vulnerable population in that type of market.”
On the first day the law took effect, homeless belongings piled up on the sidewalk. (AP Photo/Lynn Sladke)
Under the new law, local governments can provide county-owned land for people to sleep on, as long as they keep it clean and crime-free and provide showers and access to mental health services for those staying there. I can do that. For approval, the county must ensure that the homeless shelter does not have enough beds to house the local homeless population and that the encampment will not harm the property value or safety of other homes or businesses in the county. need to be proven.
The bill would provide $30 million to help local governments enact the law and provide mental health and substance abuse treatment for the homeless, but the rest of the funding is already allocated annually. Only $10 million in new funding will be provided, Allais said.
If counties don't have enough shelter beds, the law allows the establishment of outdoor encampments where homeless people can live for up to a year, and requires the largest counties to have sanitation facilities and 24-hour security. It is being
It is said that it will be difficult for local authorities to meet these standards and that if a type of homeless encampment were set up, it would pose serious safety concerns, especially for children.
“There is a huge diversity of people experiencing unsheltered homelessness, which exposes young children, young people and families to human trafficking, violence, the mentally ill and drug users. In particular, it will become something of a playground for them.
A dog is pictured next to a homeless man sleeping in the backyard of an abandoned house in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. (AP Photo/Lynn Sladke)
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The solution to solving the homelessness crisis is said to be investing in proper housing and transportation, and making sure there are enough shelters for people to go.
“Aside from that, the number of people experiencing homelessness will continue to increase, and when we criminalize it, we are essentially creating an experience that is often completely out of anyone's control. If you do so, you are a criminal.
“And that's going to be very dangerous, and if we continue to pursue that strategy, we're going to be doing a disservice to our community and our state.”
FOX News' Landon Mion and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
