New law will affect local homeless

It is now illegal to be homeless in Florida.

A new law went into effect Tuesday, Oct. 1, making it illegal for homeless people to sleep outside in public places. House Bill 1365 states this prohibits camping on streets, sidewalks and beaches and in parks, and The Associated Press news agency calls it one of the most strict anti-homelessness measures in the nation.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed the bill into law in March. He called the measure a way to keep streets and neighborhoods safe.

“Florida will not allow homeless encampments to intrude on its citizens or undermine their quality of life like we see in states like New York and California,” DeSantis said in a news release issued Oct. 1. “The legislation I signed today upholds our commitment to law and order while also ensuring homeless individuals have the resources they need to get back on their feet.”

According to House Bill 1365, cities and counties are required to provide temporary shelter, where individuals experiencing homelessness are to receive drug and mental health treatment. The press release said the state has the enforcement tools needed to ensure local governments comply.

Scott Billue, the founder of Matthew’s Hope homeless ministry, said this law affects thousands of people he works with on a daily basis at his West Orange County and Brevard County locations.

Locally, Matthew’s Hope serves homeless folks from mainly Winter Garden, Ocoee and Apopka through its offices and ministry in Winter Garden. They are men, women, young families and people who grew up in West Orange County.

Now in its 15th year, Matthew’s Hope provides a food pantry, haircuts, laundry services, mental and physical health services, a workshop, transitional housing, a preschool and more.

“I think that all it’s done is make things harder for us,” Billue said of the new law. “We knew how to find people easier. People are trying to hide more than ever before. What a lot of people don’t understand is these homeless people work, and when they’re arrested, they get a no-show for work and lose their job.”

In years past, the homeless population lived in various camps in the woods, but most of these camps don’t exist anymore.

“What you are going to see is a lot more exposure, because they are being pushed to the streets, where they were hiding before,” Billue said. “There are a lot of people sleeping behind buildings, any place that will give them a little shelter from the elements, whether that be the sun or the rain.”

SHELTER ALTERNATIVES

HB 1365, titled “Unauthorized Public Camping and Public Sleeping,” also provides alternatives for when homeless shelters have reached max capacity. It directs the Department of Children and Families to authorize temporary campsites — for up to one year — that maintain sanitation, including access to clean and operable restrooms and running water; provide access to substance abuse and mental health treatment resources through coordination with the regional managing entity; and prohibit illegal substance use and alcohol use on the property and enforce this prohibition.

Furthermore, residents, business owners and the state can sue municipalities that fail to enforce the state ban starting Jan. 1.

“The extreme version of this — but completely possible — is you’re having a cup of coffee at a coffee shop, a homeless person sits on a public bench and falls asleep,” Billue said. “You decide to call the police. They’re supposed to have two options: They can connect them with the local service that will provide housing, and the second option is being arrested.

“I don’t believe that all police officers will enforce this, but I believe a lot of them will,” he said. “If the police officer does nothing about it, in your eyes, you can sue the municipality for not addressing the homeless situation in your area. … It’s the most unthought-out thing I’ve ever seen.”

MORE THAN A VILLAGE

United States Rep. Daniel Webster has called this a local issue, Billue said, but local municipalities don’t have the money to address this on their own.

“It’s going to take state, county and local coming together with the private sector, like Matthew’s Hope, or whoever they choose,” Billue said.

“My feelings are, if people are criminals, then for God sakes, arrest them,” he said. “But, homelessness should not be a crime.”

The state budgeted $30 million to help municipalities enact the law and provide the homeless with mental health and substance abuse treatment, The AP reported, with the biggest county allotments at $600,000 each.

The Annual Homelessness Assessment Report to Congress from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development estimated the number of Americans experiencing homelessness surged to about 653,000 in last year, the highest level on record since reporting began in 2007.

According to the report, Florida has the third-highest number of homeless people, at nearly 31,000, behind California, at 181,399, and New York, at 103,200.

The report describes a homeless person as someone who lacks a fixed, regular and adequate nighttime residence.

“The suicide rate is way up,” Billue said “I will tell you that the anxiety level among these folks is like nothing I’ve ever seen before. They’re so exhausted. Imagine every time you lay your head down someone comes and says, ‘Move along.’”

WHO ARE THE HOMELESS?

“There’s been talk about looking for a shelter, and there has been talks with Matthew’s Hope about maybe running that,” Billue said. “I think you need accountability and also need to understand the demographic. Right now, the fast-growing demographic is seniors and then senior women, because they typically outlive the men. They have or had pensions but when the spouse died, the pension was cut off or part of it was taken away. …But when you cut the finances off by more than half, these senior women are living in their car, and they’re not getting proper rest and nutrition.”

Another fast-growing demographic, he said, is the homeless people with physical and mental disabilities who are outliving their caregivers and end up on the streets.

The third-fastest growing homeless population is young families who cannot afford housing.

“I’m not a fan of Section 8 housing, but we have to get back to the housing that everyday people can afford,” Billue said.

Jon C. Williams, Winter Garden city manager, said city officials will do what they can to work with the homeless population.

“It is not our intent to criminalize homelessness,” he said. “Currently, when we encounter folks, we actually offer resources and help to them as they may need.

“Last year, we brought on a full-time staff member to do community outreach services, and we most recently entered into a grant agreement with the Hope Center as an extension of those services,” Williams said. “We have contract services with Aspire to offer outreach support for those people who may need help.”

Williams said the city is “willing to work with any not-for-profit who offers those services.”

The city also is working with other governmental partners, he said.