“ What’s considered best practice by the federal government, however, is ending homelessness by treating and transitioning homeless people into permanent housing. Federal and local governments fund community coalitions and nonprofits that locate, treat and house homeless people. Some buy and refurbish shelters.
That’s how communities such as Miami-Dade County have been successful in reducing the homeless population. In 1992, the county created the nation’s first dedicated funding source for homeless services using a 1% food and beverage tax. Since then, the county has gone from more than 8,000 homeless people to less than 1,000.
Without a strategy to end homelessness, some fear HB 1365 will lead to lawless and unsafe camps.
That’s what happened in Gainesville in 2014, when the city moved homeless people out of downtown and into a camp near a homeless shelter. The city provided water, meals and police, but without structure or strategy, chronic homelessness, drug use and violence increased. The camp was shut down within five years.
Miami-Dade County shows that a housing-first approach to homelessness works, said Jesse Rabinowitz, communications director at the National Homelessness Law Center.
“We have clear proof that Florida does have the tools for homelessness, but they choose not use them,” Rabinowitz said.”
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