{"id":109369,"date":"2024-10-02T04:00:47","date_gmt":"2024-10-01T21:00:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/?p=109369"},"modified":"2024-10-02T04:00:47","modified_gmt":"2024-10-01T21:00:47","slug":"florida-enacts-tough-law-to-get-homeless-off-the-streets-leaving-cities-and-counties-scrambling","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/?p=109369","title":{"rendered":"Florida enacts tough law to get homeless off the streets, leaving cities and counties scrambling"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <script async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-3711241968723425\"\r\n     crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script>\r\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\r\n     style=\"display:block\"\r\n     data-ad-format=\"fluid\"\r\n     data-ad-layout-key=\"-fb+5w+4e-db+86\"\r\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-3711241968723425\"\r\n     data-ad-slot=\"7910942971\"><\/ins>\r\n<script>\r\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\r\n<\/script><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p>FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) \u2014 As the sun rose Tuesday, Robert Robinson pulled himself from the sidewalk outside Fort Lauderdale\u2019s bus depot. It\u2019s where he\u2019d slept \u2014 and become a violator of Florida\u2019s newest law.<\/p>\n<p>Under a <span class=\"LinkEnhancement\"><a class=\"Link AnClick-LinkEnhancement\" data-gtm-enhancement-style=\"LinkEnhancementA\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/homeless-florida-desantis-public-spaces-ban-f28a77bf5e445a5c26741cc9400fe40f\">statute<\/a><\/span> that took effect Tuesday, it is now illegal in Florida to sleep on sidewalks, in parks, on beaches or in other public spaces \u2014 one of the strictest anti-homelessness measures in the nation.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhere are they going to put all these people?\u201d Robinson asked, pointing to several other homeless persons nearby. The 61-year-old former fence installer gathered his few clothes, toothpaste and a case of cat food he hoped to sell for $2 and loaded them onto the wheelchair he uses as a walker and wagon. \u201cThere aren\u2019t enough bed spaces at the shelter.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Fort Lauderdale and Florida\u2019s other cities and counties only have three months to figure it out. Starting Jan. 1, residents, business owners and the state can sue municipalities they don\u2019t think are doing enough. Under the law, local governments must enact ordinances to create, bolster and enforce programs to help get the homeless off the streets.<\/p>\n<p>Florida estimates it has about 31,000 homeless people, though advocates say it\u2019s likely an undercount. That\u2019s a fraction of California and New York, but large majorities in the Legislature said the law was needed. Residents complain the homeless take over parks and sidewalks, threaten children, leave trash and urinate and defecate in public. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s our responsibility to deal with homelessness and that\u2019s why we can\u2019t wait any longer,\u201d said Republican state Sen. Jonathan Martin, sponsor of the bill signed in March.<\/p>\n<p>Gov. Ron DeSantis called the law \u201cabsolutely the right balance to strike.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe want to make sure we put public safety above all else,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n<p>But the threat of lawsuits under the statute has local officials worried. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere will be quite a few enterprising attorneys out there who will use this as an opportunity to rake in tens of thousands of dollars, hundreds of thousands of dollars,\u201d said Fort Lauderdale Mayor Dean Trantalis, adding that\u2019s money that won\u2019t be available to alleviate the problem. <\/p>\n<p>The state budgeted $30 million to help municipalities enact the law and provide the homeless with mental health and substance abuse treatment. But many local officials said it\u2019s not enough. The biggest county allotments are about $600,000 each.<\/p>\n<p>If counties don\u2019t have enough shelter beds, the law allows them to erect outdoor encampments where the homeless could live for up to a year \u2014 with the biggest counties required to equip them with sanitation and 24-hour security. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe send our money up to Tallahassee, and they don\u2019t send it back to help us,\u201d Palm Beach County Commissioner Gregg Weiss said recently. <\/p>\n<p>In South Florida, cities and counties are scrambling for solutions that would shield them from potential lawsuits without resorting to mass arrests. About 8,500 of Florida\u2019s homeless live across Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties amid waiting lists for affordable housing. <\/p>\n<p>Broward has about 1,650 people wanting housing, up from 1,220 two years ago. Only a handful of the county\u2019s 700 shelter beds become available daily. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cHomelessness is not a crime, and the county jail system is not a solution,\u201d Broward Sheriff Gregory Tony wrote recently in the <span class=\"LinkEnhancement\"><a class=\"Link AnClick-LinkEnhancement\" data-gtm-enhancement-style=\"LinkEnhancementA\" href=\"https:\/\/www.sun-sentinel.com\/2024\/09\/02\/broward-cant-arrest-its-way-out-of-homelessness-gregory-tony\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">South Florida Sun Sentinel<\/a><\/span>. He said his deputies won\u2019t arrest anyone for simply being homeless and his jail won\u2019t accept anyone arrested by city police. <\/p>\n<p>Miami-Dade converted an abandoned hotel into a shelter for older homeless people and may buy 175 prefabricated two-bedroom houses measuring 450 square feet (40 square meters). <\/p>\n<p>Palm Beach might designate overnight parking lots for people living in cars. <\/p>\n<p>Broward recently allocated $750,000 to buy prefabricated shelters. Patrice Paldino, director of the county agency that assists the homeless, said after getting individuals into a home or shelter, Broward provides counseling and other services to put their lives back on track. <\/p>\n<p>As for deterring lawsuits, she said, \u201cthat\u2019s an interesting question, but our goal is to continue to provide outstanding services.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The TaskForce Fore Ending Homelessness, a group Broward contracts with, helps individuals find shelter, counseling and other services. It uses \u201cfore\u201d in its name to show leadership on the issue.<\/p>\n<p>Programs vice president Jacob Torner said the law is too focused on the minority of the homeless with substance abuse problems. He said most are people who can\u2019t afford rent and are domestic violence victims, veterans, the elderly and the disabled. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe impacts of this law are going to make it more difficult for these individuals to engage in the services that will get them off the streets because they\u2019ll become more fearful,\u201d Torner said. <\/p>\n<p>On Tuesday, Erica Dorsett, the group\u2019s program administrator, drove through Fort Lauderdale\u2019s homeless hot spots to check on people the group is assisting. <\/p>\n<p>She spoke with a man sleeping outside a major hospital whose shoeless, chapped feet were swollen and infected. When asked why he doesn\u2019t go into the emergency room for treatment, Dorsett said the hospital just shuttles him back outside. <\/p>\n<p>Down the street, Doresett stopped at a park to check on another man she found sleeping on a brick wall. Agitated after being awakened, he asked for water; she brought him bottles and a cookie sandwich.<\/p>\n<p>Dorsett said the lack of housing and shelter beds means there is only so much her group can do. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe can get them to the door, do everything for them, but then our hands are tied,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n<h2>___<\/h2>\n<p>Payne reported from Tallahassee, Florida. <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><script>\n  window.fbAsyncInit = function() {\n      FB.init({\n              appId : '870613919693099',\n          xfbml : true,\n          version : 'v2.9'\n      });\n  };\n  (function(d, s, id){\n     var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];\n     if (d.getElementById(id)) {return;}\n     js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id;\n     js.src = \"https:\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/sdk.js\";\n     fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs);\n   }(document, 'script', 'facebook-jssdk'));\n<\/script><br \/>\n<br \/><script async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-3711241968723425\"\r\n     crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script>\r\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\r\n     style=\"display:block\"\r\n     data-ad-format=\"fluid\"\r\n     data-ad-layout-key=\"-fb+5w+4e-db+86\"\r\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-3711241968723425\"\r\n     data-ad-slot=\"7910942971\"><\/ins>\r\n<script>\r\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\r\n<\/script><br \/>\n<br \/><div data-type=\"_mgwidget\" data-widget-id=\"1660802\">\r\n<\/div>\r\n<script>(function(w,q){w[q]=w[q]||[];w[q].push([\"_mgc.load\"])})(window,\"_mgq\");\r\n<\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/florida-homeless-ban-poverty-a70d27efb0ec5f41bfb3d6c2facc8f84\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) \u2014 As the sun rose Tuesday, Robert Robinson pulled himself from the sidewalk outside Fort Lauderdale\u2019s bus depot. It\u2019s where he\u2019d slept \u2014 and become a &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/?p=109369\" class=\"more-link\">Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8629],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-109369","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-u-s","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/109369","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=109369"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/109369\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=109369"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=109369"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hotvideos24.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=109369"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}