If it feels like everywhere you go in Fort Lauderdale, from the Riverwalk to Downtown to the beach, you’re seeing homeless people, it’s not just a feeling.
There seems to be a surge in homelessness happening in Broward County, with one outreach group — the Task Force Fore Ending Homelessness — saying by their census, the number of homeless families seeking assistance has more than doubled from last year. The county says the problem is fueled by the high cost of housing.
We watched social workers from the Task Force meeting their “clients” where they are, on the streets. They try to get them mental health services, addiction treatment, and whatever they need to move them into shelters and eventually off the streets for good.
“I been trying to get in an ALF, I’m disabled, I’m a 62-year-old veteran from the Marines,” said Bubba Michaels, a homeless man who uses a wheelchair.
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The Task Force Fore Ending Homelessness is a non-profit agency that does outreach work every day. Their survey shows there are at least 2,000 unsheltered people in Broward right now, which is double the estimate in Miami-Dade County.
“Just be nice to somebody else, you never know what somebody’s going through,” said Ahmad Beckford of the Task Force.
“We’re seeing more and more homeless people starting to materialize on the streets and in our neighborhoods and it’s of great concern to us,” said Fort Lauderdale Mayor Dean Trantalis.
He said the city has invested millions of dollars in resources to help move homeless people into shelters, from building new housing to adding more police officers specially trained for homeless outreach, but says he does not support the bill touted Monday by Gov. Ron DeSantis.
“We are gonna keep our streets clean, we’re gonna keep our communities safe,” DeSantis said in Miami Beach.
The bill would make it illegal to camp or sleep in a public park, with some exceptions. Trantalis said it would end up flooding the jail with people arrested for sleeping in parks, people he says would be back on the streets soon after their arrests.
“The solution is trying to secure more resources to provide housing, to provide mental wellness services, addiction treatment services, these are the kinds of things that help people get themselves out of homelessness,” Trantalis said.
