A new law in Florida has initiated its last phase, effectively banning public sleeping, with a controversial twist: individuals and businesses can now sue local governments if the ban is not adequately enforced, reports News4Jax. The law, which had been previously introduced as HB 1365, is seeing communities mobilizing to assist those affected, as social services scramble to find shelter for the increasing numbers of homeless individuals. Jaime Williams, the social services director at the City Rescue Mission, emphasized the collective efforts saying, "It’s really a collaborative effort between the city rescue mission, other social service agencies, and JFRD. And so together, we are gotten together to try to designate beds specifically for folks who are camping and they need a place to stay," reports News4Jax.
The need for more support is evident with agencies like the Martin County Sheriff's Office already stepping up even before the law's final phase began indeed they’ve been active in reaching out to homeless people to provide them assistance or, if rejected, face jail time as Sheriff William Snyder pointed out in a statement obtained by WPBF, "Our jail population is always being pushed by the homeless. They have a choice," Snyder stated. "They can get services and let us help them, or they can go to jail, but they can't stay on the streets panhandling and interfering with traffic and harassing shoppers." The law also informs that municipalities may establish shelters designated by the Florida Department of Children and Families.
Despite the efforts of local administrations, concerns arise as potential lawsuits loom over municipalities failing to enforce the public sleeping ban, reports First Coast News. Homelessness is on the rise and, as Andrew Bonderud, a local attorney, put it during an interview with First Coast News, "Around the rest of the state, I would not be surprised to see proliferation of these types of cases, especially if there are smaller municipalities, maybe with governing boards or commissions that are not responsive to complaints you should anticipate cases being brought under this law."
Dawn Gilman, the CEO of Changing Homelessness, echoed the sentiment of a resources shortfall and Jacksonville City Councilman Jimmy Peluso has called upon the state for additional funding to meet the needs by stating that "Homelessness is going up in pretty much every major municipality in the country and we need to make sure we're ready for it, we need to make sure we are giving people the services that they need, again we can't just move people to fringes we have to provide them real solutions and that where I think Tallahassee has not given us the runway we need to help provided solutions," which he told First Coast News. The Community Benefits Agreement, a city legislature, is poised to offer some relief with funding aimed at aiding Jacksonville's homeless population.
