In traditional Greek fashion, restaurant owner Georgios Vogiatzis and the governor marked the occasion by smashing plates on the floor.
“Opa!” they shouted in unison.
Mr. Vogiatzis shared a story about how a homeless man attacked him when he tried to give him food. He said this bill was actually helping the homeless first, along with cleaning up the streets.
The governor saw it as beneficial for all Florida residents.
“It’s important that we maintain the quality of life for the residents,” Mr. DeSantis said. “In the state of Florida, I want this to continue to be a place where people can raise families ... and for people to be able to retire here in safety and security. And I think this is going to be an important part of that.”
The new legislation will rein in homeless encampments in public spaces by requiring all “public camping and public sleeping” to only be permitted within authorized spaces certified and inspected by the Department of Children and Families. It also requires homeless shelters to prohibit their occupants from using drugs and alcohol, maintain sanitation standards, provide running water and operable restrooms, and offer substance abuse and mental health treatments and resources.
It goes into effect on Oct. 1, 2024.
Mr. DeSantis pointed to New York and the situation in California, which reportedly has six of the top 10 cities for homelessness, as a contrast to the decisions being made in his state. He also touted statistics showing that Florida’s homeless population decreased 11 percent between 2019 and 2022 while homelessness grew by three percent nationally.
“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,” said the governor. “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.”
Statewide Law and Order
Mr. DeSantis was joined by Miami Beach Mayor Steven Meiner, who took the podium welcoming the event’s attendants to the “law and order city” in the “law and order state of Florida.”The mayor said his city has already implemented measures to clear homelessness from the streets.
“Our commission has legislation that is so necessary ... to give our law enforcement the tools to try to get [homeless] the help that they need, offer them shelter,” he said. “And if they refuse, the officer has the discretion to make the arrest, and oftentimes, it’s individuals we see over and over again on the street. And that’s one aspect of so much more legislation that we’re working on.”
Mr. Meiner said he does not plan to stop his law-and-order campaign until Miami Beach is the safest city in America.
Indeed the new law holds all of the state’s counties and municipalities to law-and-order standards across the state, and lawmakers from other parts of the state were also in attendance.
“We’re going to protect and fight for our public spaces, our parks, our libraries, [and] the sidewalks we walk down,” said State Rep. Sam Garrison of Clay County, Florida. “These things are worth fighting for.”
Taking Care of Both Sides
State Sen. John Martin of Lee County, Florida, also touched on the humanitarian side of the state of affairs, praising the bill for proving that lawmakers can protect public spaces while also taking care of the homeless. He highlighted that Florida’s warm climate attracts homeless people who are looking to escape the harsh winters in northern cities like Chicago.“We have incredible organizations, nonprofit organizations. We have incredible government agencies—DCF [Department of Children and Families], Department of Health. They do a lot,” he said. “And they work in tandem with our nonprofits and our political organizations, as well as Salvation Army or local churches or synagogues to do incredible work. And this isn’t a bill to say that you guys haven’t been doing your job. This is a bill to say, look, let’s help them set up a framework.”
He also argued the benefits of bringing homeless populations into safe and accessible areas rather than allowing them to remain camped out in the woods or mangroves away from people.
“These are situations where you’re not going to have elderly volunteers or high school kids or college kids on spring break helping out because of the dangers that are associated with wanting to help homeless individuals,” he said. With the oversight from the department children and families, we get more people working together in a much less expensive way, and provide “actual meaningful change in individuals’ lives.”
But despite the anticipated benefits, concerns arise over how the homeless will be received in these certified areas, and whether or not they move into these areas voluntarily.
“I heard about this new law,” said a 54-year-old former U.S. Marine, who asked to be identified as Danny.
“I don’t know when they’re going to come for me. I don’t know what’s going to happen,” he told The Epoch Times.
He looked back fretfully at his camp near a shopping center in Gainesville. The center’s security man knows he’s there, making the best life he can under a collection of tarps.
“The man told me to ‘stay invisible,' so I do,” Danny said, reaching down to pet his dogs, Brody and Bella.
Bella danced at the end of her leash, playfully tapping Danny with her tiny paws. Brody wagged his tail, then turned to growl at a stranger.
Their master shivered on what had become an unseasonably chilly March morning.
The cold seems colder in Florida, he said.
“I’m from the Bronx. But it’s a wet cold here,” he said.
He admits he has concerns about the new law.
He’d like help with housing, he said. And he has no problem with the requirement to stay drug-free and sober. He’s seen far too many destroyed by drugs and alcohol to turn to those, he said.
“I smoke weed. But I’m dying to work again. I want to work. I want to get on my feet. I want a fresh start.”
He lost his job in manufacturing after being hit by a truck while riding his bicycle to work. Doctors helped piece his body back together. But after the crash, his life was in tatters.
What will happen to his dogs if he’s forced into a shelter, he worried aloud. Animal shelters in his area are full, and not accepting any animals.
That’s why he and his dogs rode out Hurricane Idalia right there under his tarps.
Most homeless people have the same problem, he said. It would break their hearts to part with their pets.
“They’re my family,” he shrugged. “The only family I have.”
