- Field Day |
- Buildings Alive |
- Visions |
- CLGBT |
- Green Community |
- Fun & Free S#!T |
- Crossword |
- CL Space |
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
Pinellas County unveils a new, innovative approach to helping the homeless — a tent city! Wait a second ...
Posted by Alex Pickett on Wed, Oct 31, 2007 at 11:31 PM
In case you haven’t heard by now, another tent city is coming to Pinellas County.
On a 10-acre tract of land off of 49th Street at 126th Avenue North, next to a UPS warehouse and surrounded by swampy woods, a camp of tents will emerge by Dec. 1.
The tent city (called a “soft shelter†by its proponents) is Pinellas Hope, an audacious Catholic Charities emergency shelter program that will offer shelter, meals, showers and bathrooms to nearly 250 homeless men and women. Catholic Charities donated the land, the Pinellas County Commission kicked in $460,000 and charities donated $500,000 to run the camp from Dec. 1 to April 1, which also happens to be the county’s prime tourist season.
“It’s a first step,†says Sheila Lopez, chief operating officer for Catholic Charities, who contributed the land for Pinellas Hope. “Somebody has got to do something.â€
But — as is the case with all homeless issues in the county — not everyone agrees this is the best step to take. Some advocates say the presence of Pinellas Hope could actually harm homeless individuals on the streets.
Last week, while the Florida Coalition for the Homeless held its annual conference in St. Petersburg, another type of homeless summit took place at the Unitarian Universalist Church of St. Petersburg.
In the church’s reception area, homeless men, women and their advocates worried aloud about the effects of Pinellas Hope on those who sleep on the streets of St. Petersburg. And the irony of Pinellas Hope’s location, between the county jail and a cemetery, was not lost on attendees.
Michael Stoops, executive director of the National Coalition of Homelessness, spoke about St. Pete’s three murders of homeless men this year. Tulin Ozdeger, coordinator of the Civil Rights Project at the National Law Center of Homelessness and Poverty, spoke about the ordinances passed by the St. Pete City Council earlier this year banning camping and sleeping on the city’s streets.
“There are a lot of people that won’t go,†says Brad Bradford, who is homeless and a vocal advocate for his friends on the streets. He brings up the most recent murder of a homeless man, Charles Cummings, whom Bradford said would never leave a half-mile radius in downtown St. Pete.
According to Eric Rubin, one of St. Pete’s most vocal homeless advocates, several homeless people have been told by St. Pete police officers that come Dec. 1, if they don’t move to Pinellas Hope, they will be arrested. (Police deny the charge.)
In response to these concerns, the Pinellas County Coalition of the Homeless Board passed a resolution yesterday urging city officials to view Pinellas Hope “as a voluntary shelter program, and that no one be coerced through threat of arrest to go or reside there.†A letter will be sent to the city today.
“We want to make sure this isn’t going to be grounds for enforcement,†says Sarah Snyder, PCCH’s executive director, “because there is still not going to be enough space for homeless to go.â€
Despite reservations over the effectiveness of Pinellas Hope — even Catholic Charities’ Lopez admits it’s an “experiment†that “may not work†— there are no other solutions on the horizon. The PSTA shelter proposal unveiled earlier this year is dead and a promising shelter program using area churches has not yet materialized. So the county is back in the same spot as eight months ago: a temporary tent city that nobody is excited about.
“My problem is it’s not a permanent solution,†says St. Petersburg City Councilman Jamie Bennett, who also heads up the county’s Homeless Leadership Network. “Every other city I’ve gone to visit has created permanent facilities.â€
“[Homelessness is] getting worse, not getting better,†says PCCH’s Snyder. “We get 100 phone calls a day. And I’m not just talking about homeless, it’s people in danger of being homeless.â€
The homelessness issue has been an up and down roller-coaster this year in Pinellas County. Check out CL's previous coverage:
City officials and advocates declare homelessness a "crisis"
Fallout from the first Tent City debacle
The homeless summit at which everyone agreed "no more tent cities."
St. Pete City Council passes anti-homeless ordinances
Roadblocks for the mid-county shelter
Comments (44)
Showing 1-44 of 44
Oh I am sure the city will scoop the homeless up and deposit them in the swamp,with a tent no less.Imagine what's become of us to actually want to believe that this plan will work.These people as pathetic as they are were once kids and then adults and contributed to this train wreck of a system we have.The numbers will get greater as the economy implodes this year and thereafter.Our manufacturing has been sent overseas.Our country plundered.I'm not Christian because most disgust me and churches in Particular.These people have No health insurance and some have had Decades of neglect. Does Canada have this problem to scale.What the hecks wrong with us that we put up with a system that has Victimized our population for decades? I do however think Pastor Bruce Wright has some very constuctive and cost effective Ideas concerning his Intentional communities.He is trying his darndest and has been met with much resistance and Police Harrassment and fines for trying to attend to this most diffucult of Ordained assignments.Do you want to be stripped of your Rights if you get sick? or Old,or if poverty visits your home.You live in Hurricane central,Do you want to be loaded like Cattle?Forget Katrina already.
like
dislike
It's the same names over and over and over again. Yeah we notice. donated swamp land in god's name. move or get arrested ....
http://blogs.creativeloafing.com/blurbex/2008/05/28/photos-of-nude-kids-in-an-art-gallery-obscene-or-not/
People usually say :"Seeing is believing." GHD Each attempt has a corresponding gain, in part or obvious, or vague. At least we have the kind of satisfaction After I bought this watch ,in a sense,it means a great deal to me. rolex watches
Do you konw how to Convert MTS to AVI easily and quickly? here, i would like to recommend you this ultra mts to avi converter, which can convert mts to avi with just a few simple clicks, free download it and have a wonderful try. related product M2TS to AVI for you!
Our shop offers many famous Best Replica Watches. for example:Chopard Replica Watches, They are all wrist watches and you can buy one for your father to show your love ,moreover. no one could know it a replica one.
We have been banned and have a considerable amount of money owed to us. http://www.anfworld.com/abercrombie-and-fitch-jeans.html http://www.anfworld.com/ruehl-no-925.html
Very interesting issue that after a very successful. Nicely written article good work ! Thanks for the great piece of sharing.
Very interesting issue that after a very successful. Nicely written article good work ! Thanks for the great piece of sharing.
Soles, which were once laboriously hand-stitched on, are now more often machine stitched or simply glued on.
wow..its a great fun here....which i have done today through pdf format.Your blog is very much useful and rocking dear.
you have provided detailed knowledge and information about today's latest technologies, online communications and other businesses.
which i have done today through pdf format.Your blog is very much useful and rocking dear.
I found your blog on Yahoo and I just wanted to say that I think your writing is simply stunning!
DllErrorsFix is an dll errors fix tool.DllErrorsFix can repair and fix dll errors easy, safe and fast. DllErrorsFix will not collect or use any information about the visitors to the Web Site and your visit to the Web Site is anonymous.
No one likes a Windows XP slow startup.When you startup your computer you want it to be ready to use immediately. I can not make it that fast, but I can help you fix Windows XP slow startup.First step to fix Windows XP slow startup is to find out what programs are loading when you startup Windows XP. To do this click start, run, then type in msconfig and hit enter. Look at the Boot.ini tab. In the box labeled Timeout change the time from the default 30 to 3. This changes how long it waits to before booting.
My friend suggested me to visit your blog. Very well explained. I would like to say that it is very interesting to read your blog.coach purses cheap coach purses,
Your blog appears quite informative. I liked it. So much useful material. I read with great interest.Can you please tell me how can I read your rss blog? coach purses cheap coach purses,
Blu-ray DVD Copy is a professional blu ray dvd copy tool which can make complete copies of DVD and Blu-ray movies. meanwhile, this powerful blu-ray dvd copy software supports you burn Blu-ray and DVD movies directly to Blu-ray discs and DVDs, copy them and save as folder or ISO image file for you movie collection easily. Rip Blu-Ray DVD
The homelessness issue has been an up and down roller-coaster this year in Pinellas County. Check out CL’s previous coverage. How great the news is! blu ray copy blu ray ripper for mac
Catholic Charities donated the land, the Pinellas County Commission kicked in $460,000 and charities donated $500,000 to run the camp from Dec. It is the only thing I am interested in. ipod to computer tranfer free ipod to itunes transfer
Top Commenters
