South Florida communities struggle with rise in homeless

With the number of homeless people on the rise, communities across South Florida are struggling to deal with the fallout.

Fort Lauderdale Mayor Jack Seiler is suggesting the city open two short-term centers near downtown where charities can feed the homeless, to draw the crowds that gather daily away from Stranahan Park.

Palm Beach County is building its first homeless resource center after years of delay. Communities throughout both counties have debated if they should crack down on panhandling in the streets.

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Both Broward and Palm Beach counties will send out hundreds of volunteers this month to get the first count in two years of how many people are homeless. They will scour parks, shelters, soup kitchens, labor camps, libraries and bus terminals over a 24-hour period to collect the information.

Social service advocates expect to find more than the 5,300 people who were counted two years ago in Broward and Palm Beach. The number of homeless families particularly is expected to be higher in light of the national recession that has cost people jobs and homes.

"A new face of homeless has emerged in our community because there has been a staggering increase in family homelessness," said Diana Stanley, executive director of the Lord's Place, which provides aid to the homeless throughout Palm Beach County. "When people think of the homeless, they think of the person standing on a street corner begging, but more and more it's families — families with children."

Palm Beach County showed an increase in overall homelessness from 1,766 people in 2007 to 2,147 in 2009, while homeless in Broward went from 3,154 in 2007 to 3,230 in 2009. School district data shows children of homeless families have increased since then — Palm Beach County alone has witnessed a 62 percent jump in homeless students this year.

But Laura Hansen with Broward's Coalition to End Homelessness is concerned the survey will underestimate the scope of the problem even though charities are overwhelmed with waiting lists for assistance.

She and other advocates say the count, which is designed by the federal government, unfairly excludes people temporarily staying with friends or family because they lack their own home.

Local governments have been pressed to respond to the number of homeless people.

Stranahan Park has been the center of the fight in Fort Lauderdale. Government officials estimate up to 125 homeless people a day gather around the park — drawn by the comfort and computers of the neighboring main library and the meals that charities and religious groups distribute in the park.

Downtown businesses and residents, though, have increasingly complained. They say customers and passers-by are harried and sometimes concerned for their safety.

Downtown resident Lisa Johnsen recently wrote city officials that she has witnessed homeless people having sex in public and that one homeless man threatened to kill her and her dog while she was out on a walk.

"I really hope that the city can monitor the area to get this under control before it gets even worse so we can keep this area growing," Johnsen said.

But Fort Lauderdale city commissioners have failed for two years to follow through on promises to open a feeding center. If they did so, they could then ban groups from serving meals in the park. But each location they've considered has met resistance from surrounding neighborhoods.

Seiler is now proposing the city find two temporary locations — one north of the New River and one south. He said that would spread out the feeding so no single area shoulders the entire effort, and he said it would be better able to pass legal muster. The city could face a federal court challenge if any site is too inconvenient for the homeless that now gather downtown.

"It's a difficult situation," Seiler said, "but we're determined to find a solution to what's happening. People want a resolution, but it must be something legal that all can accept."

Homeless residents say the park is the one place they know to go.

"If they didn't want us in the park, why is it called a public park," said Brenda Johnson, who has been homeless for 15 years. Fellow homeless resident Wendy Martin added, "We have nowhere else to go. If the city wants to shut down the park, they need to create a safe place for us to go."

Charities have been frustrated by the delays. A coalition of churches has been waiting for the city to follow through so they could then coordinate meals and better offer other assistance.

"No one wants a homeless feeding place in their backyard, but we need to settle on a place," said Jason Mann, who helps with homeless outreach at Calvary Chapel.

While Fort Lauderdale struggles on, Palm Beach County government has ended years of discussion and is building its first homeless resource center. Slated to open this fall in West Palm Beach, the center will be similar to three that Broward County runs.

The center will direct services to the homeless as well as provide beds for 60 people on a short-term basis while their needs are evaluated and housing found. The center will cost $9 million and is part of a 10-year plan to curb homelessness in Palm Beach.

Claudia Tuck, director of human services for Palm Beach County, said the county is planning a second center in Belle Glade. Officials are seeking funding for that facility and then want a center in the southern part of the county.

Disputes have erupted across the area about balancing the rights of the homeless while addressing concerns of other residents.

Oakland Park backed off a proposal in November to jail panhandlers and those who help them after threats of a lawsuit and a firestorm of outrage. But in December, Miramar decided to ban begging, street vending and charity collections at its major intersections.

Palm Beach County took a middle ground. Instead of banning all begging and fundraising on county roads, officials outlawed "aggressive" panhandling and launched a campaign to encourage people to donate to homeless shelters and food pantries instead of giving money on the street.

Broward County's public defender, Howard Finkelstein, has charged that cities are harassing the homeless by arresting them on minor municipal violations. He sent a letter last week to the chief judge alleging that cities have failed to properly provide defense lawyers for the indigent they arrest in such cases.

"I am not going to be part of the harassment of homeless people," Finkelstein said. "The cities need to hire private lawyers to defend the poor homeless people and that will cause them to think twice before they harass and arrest them."