Florida enacts tough law to get homeless off the streets, leaving cities and counties scrambling

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — As the sun rose Tuesday, Robert Robinson pulled himself from the sidewalk outside Fort Lauderdale’s bus depot. It’s where he’d slept — and become a violator of Florida’s newest law.

Under a statute that took effect Tuesday, it is now illegal in Florida to sleep on sidewalks, in parks, on beaches or in other public spaces — one of the strictest anti-homelessness measures in the nation.

“Where are they going to put all these people?” 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. “There aren’t enough bed spaces at the shelter.”

Fort Lauderdale and Florida’s 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’t 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.

Florida estimates it has about 31,000 homeless people, though advocates say it’s likely an undercount. That’s 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.

<bsp-list-loadmore data-module="" class=«PageListStandardB» data-gtm-region=«RELATED COVERAGE» data-gtm-topic=«No Value» data-hide-dates=«true» data-show-loadmore=«true»