Florida introduces law allowing residents to sue over homeless people on the streets

It’s been a busy week for volunteers at the Camillus House shelter, who are racing to create spaces for homeless people to stay warm. The sky in Miami is the same as always, clear blue, with clouds of all shapes and sunshine that illuminates everything it touches, but temperatures remain below 50 degrees Fahrenheit (10 degrees Celsius), a “winter” just for them, a climate Floridians know very little about. Last Thursday, a day that meteorologists recorded as the coldest in South Florida in the past two years, volunteers were seen walking around downtown to offer several people the chance to get off the streets and occupy the 50 beds they have prepared at the shelter.

It is part of a joint effort that several organizations and groups have carried out in response to the protocol of the Homeless Trust, the agency that serves the homeless in Miami-Dade County. “Many homeless people lack adequate clothing and protection,” says Eddie Gloria, director of Camillus House. “That is why we open our doors to offer shelter, clothing, showers, food, and support until the weather improves.”

Normally, warm weather makes the streets less sinister for homeless Floridians, and a quick stroll through downtown Miami can shed light on the situation in the city: people living in makeshift homes, sleeping in tents, or on a piece of cardboard. The homelessness epidemic in the United States is also being felt in Florida, where according to official figures more than 31,000 people were left homeless last year.

In the face of this situation, state politicians have begun to take action, although many doubt that this represents a real solution to the problem. On January 1, a new law went into effect that, according to Governor Ron DeSantis, aims to put “public safety above all else” and seeks to ensure that homeless encampments do not “interfere with citizens or undermine their quality of life.”

The law, which began restricting sleeping on the streets in October, now paves the way for Florida residents or business owners to sue their local governments if they fail to ban homeless people from camping in public places. It does not, however, limit authorized recreational camping and does not extend to people sleeping in their legally parked cars.

For Malena Legarre, a member of the board of directors of the organization Hermanos de la Calle, which has also been providing help to homeless people in the face of the low temperatures in the Sunshine State, this is a law that at first glance “could criminalize” and “use the homeless to generate debate,” but, she adds, “you have to look on the bright side of things.” As she explains, the law implies that the government must “generate resources to avoid a situation of demand, which ends up being something positive. Because if along with the law come resources that can help those of us who provide services to improve the situation of the homeless, then it is welcome.”

In October, it was announced that the state had allocated $30 million to help local governments enact the law, but many believe that this is not enough.

Law could end up “displacing vulnerable people”

Data from the Department of Housing and Urban Development indicate that since 2022, the number of people sleeping on Florida’s streets has increased by more than 43%. Volunteers and shelter managers agree that, at least in Miami — where the price of renting an apartment ranges from $1,800 to $2,400 a month — the high cost of living is directly related to the increase in homelessness.

“Many are unable to pay rent, and shelter capacity is not sufficient to meet demand,” says Gloria of Camillus House. He explains there are other factors such as job losses, inflation, lack of access to mental health services, and systemic problems in social support networks. “All of this is contributing to more people becoming homeless.”

Legarre finds the increase in the number of entire families living on the streets “alarming,” something she sees as related to the many “evictions due to the rise in rents.” “This is the reason why there are more homeless people in Miami now,” she says. “Retirees practically earn $950 a month and there is nothing that allows you to live on that money.” In addition, Legarre understands that many undocumented migrants also find themselves restricted when it comes to accessing housing, given the impossibility of “finding a job and having a stable income.”

Although the new law is intended, according to its promoters, as an attempt to solve the problem of the thousands of people who sleep on the streets, there are still doubts about what will happen, what the solutions to the problem will be, or whether the law could be counterproductive.

Gloria is convinced that the measure “has good intentions, as it seeks to balance public safety, property values, and the esthetic appearance of communities with the need to offer adequate support to homeless people.” However, he recognizes that its success will depend a lot on how it is implemented in each county. “This will involve identifying suitable locations for temporary encampments, obtaining certifications from the Department of Children and Families, and ensuring that facilities meet standards for safety, hygiene, and access to mental health services. But if it is not addressed with care and sufficient resources, it could make the situation worse, displacing vulnerable people without offering real solutions.”

Legarre says that, at least for now, the law does not imply a police campaign against homeless people in the state. If the authorities issue a warning to leave the streets, organizations such as Hermanos de la Calle offer services, or the possibility of helping people to find a shelter. “I think that in Miami, before filing a lawsuit, people will try to help the person. It is a community where everyone, from politicians to the government itself, really wants to help,” he says.

Although the police in Miami do not allow camps to be set up, they are not penalizing people who sleep in public spaces at night. In statements to the Miami Herald, the Miami-Dade Police Department explained that, although the authorities can detain those who, after a warning, do not leave the place where they are sleeping, the law “does not create a criminal or civil offense.” Rather, they claim that it is intended to help homeless people find shelter.

However, many believe that the real, long-term solution for homeless people is not this law itself, but the permanent allocation of housing to those in need. “The main solution is to be able to provide permanent housing,” says Lagarre.

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