City of Jacksonville to unveil plan to address homelessness to comply with new Florida law

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The City of Jacksonville is set to unveil its plans to help get the homeless off the streets and back on their feet later this morning.

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It’s part of the city’s new plan and an effort to comply with a new state law designed to crack down on public encampments.

However, the city already stated last Tuesday that it won’t be creating designated homeless camps.

Read: Jacksonville looks to comply with FL ban on public sleeping and camping without creating tent cities

Action News Jax went through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s latest “point in time” numbers, which tallies the number of people without a home. It says that there are at least 567 homeless people in Northeast Florida.

While Mayor Donna Deegan’s office told Action News Jax that it plans to find motels and other places for the homeless, Jacksonville resident John Ellis has his own creative idea on how to get them off the streets and back on their feet.

“If it was me, I’d open up some of these schools that we are shutting down, and we’re paying for the space anyway and lights on. Put chairs or something in there for them to lay in ... That’s what I’d do,” he told Action News Jax.

The mayor is set to announce the details of the homeless plan at 10 a.m. at City Hall. You can count on Action News Jax to bring you the latest at noon.

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