West Palm Beach moves closer to banning camping, sleeping on city streets It s a rough day to be a Floridian, says a homeless advocate
The homeless advocate from West Palm Beach shared that sentiment Monday to city council members.
and last updated 2021-04-19 23:40:03-04
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. â David Rae isn t happy. In essence, they re saying get out of my face. I don t want to deal with this, he said.
The homeless advocate from West Palm Beach shared that sentiment Monday to city council members.
The City of West Palm Beach is considering an ordinance banning sleeping and camping in certain designated areas in the city.
City moves closer to banning camping, sleeping on streets April 19, 2021 at 10:21 PM EDT - Updated April 20 at 8:41 AM
David Rae isn t happy. In essence, they re saying, Get out of my face. I don t want to deal with this, he said.
The homeless advocate from West Palm Beach shared that sentiment Monday to city council members.
West Palm Beach is considering an ordinance banning sleeping and camping in certain designated areas in the city.
Leaders with the city said they have a continuing problem of homeless folks sleeping and camping in public areas, as well as in entrances of businesses.
Police and downtown advocates at the meeting hailed the measure as a way to address problems encountered by residents, tourists and businesses. This ordinance is going to be a great tool for us, Deputy Police Chief Rick Morris told the commissioners. It doesn’t take our compassion away.. It gives us opportunity to enforce laws but more importantly it gives us tools to help people.
Civil libertarians were quick to reject the provisions as unconstitutional attempts to criminalize behavior rather than address causes – and as mean-spirited – especially in a time of pandemic. The real motivation here is not to help people but to remove the faces of poverty and homelessness, said Jim Green, a West Palm Beach lawyer and former president of the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida.