Starting January 1, private citizens and businesses can sue local governments if they fail to enforce the state-mandated ban on sleeping and camping on public property.
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Jacksonville city leaders told Action News Jax they’re optimistic the city is in a good position to avoid potential lawsuits.
“The key elements of our homelessness mitigation plan that were funded by City Council have been activated, including a dedicated outreach team that is hitting the streets 24/7 and a staggered shelter bed expansion,” said Mayor Donna Deegan’s office in a statement. ”The City of Jacksonville is complying with HB 1365 and will continue to do so alongside our partners at JSO and JFRD.”
City council recently approved $1.3 million to add 110 beds between three local shelters.
Council Finance Chair Ron Salem (R-Group 2 At-Large) told Action News Jax 28 new beds are ready for use.
“There are eight female beds, 20 male beds. The female beds are full. The male beds, seven of the 20 are being occupied,” said Salem.
An additional 16 beds are expected to be ready before January 1st according to Trinity Rescue Mission.
This year’s Point in Time Count documented 469 unsheltered homeless individuals in Duval County.
Salem noted while shelters are one option to keep them from sleeping on the streets and exposing the city to lawsuits, there are other options as well.
“We’re trying to utilize our Homeward Bound program initially and if there’s a desire for someone to go back where they came from, we’ll get them a bus ticket,” said Salem.
As a final option, there’s also arrest.
Since JSO began enforcing the public sleeping ban on November 1st, 70 arrests have been made.
Meanwhile, 488 warnings have been issued.
Salem said that given all the options available, he’s hopeful the city is in a good position heading into the new year.
“Lawsuits can fly. You know, we can’t prevent that, but I think JSO and JFRD are well prepared to move people off public property either to a shelter, or move them home, or possibly to jail if they refuse to cooperate,” said Salem.
Salem added that JSO and JFRD will be providing an update on the rollout of the public sleeping and camping ban to the council on January 7th.
That presentation will help inform city leaders about additional steps that may need to be taken moving forward.
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