“At some point, a community just has to acknowledge that it is criminalizing the poverty that comes from having housing that is too expensive”: Gainesville City Commission grants $700k to GRACE for 30 shelter beds

BY JENNIFER CABRERA
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – At the General Policy Committee meeting on February 22, the Gainesville City Commission voted unanimously to grant up to $700,000 to GRACE Marketplace to immediately create 10 shelter beds and then renovate a vacant building to create an additional 20 beds and provide support services for those clients.
Review of the effort to clear tents from SE 4th Place on Feb. 20
City Manager Cynthia Curry reviewed the effort to clear tents from the right-of-way along SE 4th Place; she said the City placed notices on Tuesday (Feb. 20) and then went back later in the afternoon, “in hopes of those items of properties being moved. That did occur: what happened is, the individuals who were on the sidewalk and in the street moved over to the opposite side of the street, where there’s of course public right-of-way. That requires a different engagement by the City; we’re required to… give three days’ notice, based on Administrative Procedure 23,” which requires offering an option for shelter.
Curry said she had met with members of the Continuum of Care team, and “right now… GRACE is what we have identified.”
Curry said the City also worked on Thursday (Feb. 22) toward clearing an encampment on private property near the Walmart on Waldo Road. “No trespassing” signs were recently placed there, and now Gainesville Police Department (GPD), Community Paramedicine, and GRACE Outreach are working with the homeless people on that property.
Commissioner Reina Saco said she had received emails complaining about giving people five hours to leave, but Curry said people were “in the street with the tents… which is, of course, a safety issue, but the sidewalk was impassable.” She said that situation is different from a “public right-of-way or a park, where you would have three days’ notice.”
GRACE’s proposal
Curry said GRACE is proposing to provide 10 additional shelter beds within the next seven days, “and while that is happening, they would mobilize to take one of the vacant buildings that they have and go through the retrofitting process with the sprinkler systems and all. That’s a one-time heavy lift of cost.”
Curry said the 10 new beds would cost about $75,000 for the remainder of the fiscal year, and the new space would be available within 90 days, assuming that “permitting goes as it hopefully should,” for $400,000. She said, “They have to install security cameras in the residential areas, install equipment necessary for internet connectivity and camera usage, another $19,000 for shelter furnishings, the beds, etc.” She said that facility would add 20 beds; “all 30 would not necessarily be available for the City, but we’re making it available so that the community, obviously, can also participate in that.”
She said the one-time costs come to $526,000, then staffing would be three FTEs, about $75,000 for the remainder of the fiscal year, plus about $25,000 for a half-FTE for evening custodial and maintenance, “and $28,000 in order to allow for reasonable increases, because it’s very hard to get people there to work.” She said there would be additional food costs for 19 meals per week per person for 20 people, which would be about $30,000. Additional supplies like toiletries, paper towels, and toilet paper would cost about $6,000, so the ongoing costs add up to about $164,000. Curry said the total of the one-time cost and the ongoing costs would be $690,000.
Alachua Chronicle requested a copy of GRACE’s proposal on Thursday but did not receive it as of the publication date of this article.
Half the people remaining in tents were previously in permanent supportive housing programs
Gainesville Fire Rescue Chief Joe Dixon said that of 12 individuals the City had spoken with along SE 4th Place, six of them were previously in permanent supportive housing programs. Curry said that when the City started doing the assessment of the encampment, there were about 15 tents, “and it whittled down to 10… after we started to work with that community.” She said about 12 people remain, and she said three of the tents “are used more for business purposes” and seven are occupied.
GRACE Executive Director Jon DeCarmine arrived at the meeting and said he had an immediate plan to expand the shelter capacity at GRACE Marketplace by 10 beds for $75,000. He added more information about the six people who had previously been in permanent supportive housing: “Permanent supportive housing programs are the highest level of care and the most intensive level of support, at this point, that we have in this community. So six of the 12 went into such a program; it did not work. It doesn’t mean that they’re not eligible, it just means that the housing that we’re attempting to provide is not up to the level of what they need.”
DeCarmine said that the 10 new shelter beds would not necessarily go to the people who are camping on SE 4th Place, but the plan allows the City to offer beds to those people when they’re given notice that they will have to vacate the tents. He said it will also prevent “the next 10 people who may have been turned away from shelter, due to lack of capacity, from going out on the street.” He said the next piece will be to permanently expand the shelter by 20 beds and said the plan will allow GRACE to reconfigure the shelter by adding the ability to move people into another building. He said that can help with sheltering someone who “[doesn’t] do well living with five other people, let alone living with 200 other people.”
Public comment
During public comment, Philip Arana said he was initially encouraged last Thursday when “it appeared to us, and to me personally, that the Commission really took this problem of personal safety and public safety with a priority that we feel it needs,” but “what the police and the first responders did was move the street people from the sidewalk on SE 4th Place to across the street… and so things have not changed… I’m afraid to walk to the corner… Right now, I’m afraid to go back home.”
Dillon Boatner sarcastically congratulated the City on their “mission accomplished” He said, “A dedicated squadron of at least 20 armed officers staged their vehicles blocking the south sidewalk along the old fire station, so that the north sidewalk could be made clear and walkable and safe for our community… The City was there to make sure the dozen or so tents that people had set up to sleep in on the sidewalk were now across the street, in the dirt.” He suggested using nearby City properties to set up temporary shelters with bathrooms and a dumpster.
Eli Collins, who owns a welding company in the area, said the public safety issue has not been solved, and he offered to help construct housing.
A woman said, “Shelter is a human right… The United States of America has more than enough money to solve every financial issue faced by every single person in the country. The lie [is] that there is no money, when $300 billion is sent to Israel for the systematic genocide of Palestinians… Free Palestine!”
Lauri Schiffbauer, the CEO and Executive Director of St. Francis House, said she was concerned about the “crime on the street… There are about three or four cars… People come to their cars and get drugs… I am not about criminalizing homelessness, because we can’t – it’s inhumane. What we can do is make sure that we are enforcing our standing drug laws, and the folks in those cars aren’t homeless.”
Several people who said they were from the Civic Media Center criticized the “inhumane” treatment of the people living in the tents on SE 4th Place. One man identified as “Mr. Morales” said he didn’t believe the people who said they feel unsafe in the area: “I don’t believe them. I don’t believe that’s coming from good intentions.”
A woman who said she was a “resident and worker in Gainesville” spoke against the “continuing violence in our city and acts against the unhoused neighbors. Deny, attack, reverse victim order – every abuser uses the same tactic to shirk responsibility.” She also mentioned the money that the U.S. sends to Israel for “continued genocide against the Palestinians” and said that our society was founded on “genocide and slavery.”
A man named Hunter said, “Clearly, brutal harassment, over-policing, displacement, and criminalization of our most desperate population is not helping them… As long as we continue to treat housing like it’s an investment, as something to profit off of, we will never be able to address the causes and meet the needs of our population here.” He also mentioned U.S. funds for “genocidal states like the State of Israel.”
A woman named Dora said, “The City is just a euphemism to grant cops the authority to jail and harass even more people. Calling in 30 cops and trying to make it a photo op as saviors is despicable, trying to dehumanize an entire group of people as drug addicts and criminals.” She recommended providing resources like “bathrooms, trash cans, sinks, etc., sharing food and resources,” and building affordable housing instead of funding the Gainesville Police Department: “People over profit; care, not cops.”
Eric Davis said we need to have “honest conversations about why many of the people are experiencing homelessness, which is substance use disorder and severe mental health. Of course, couple that with trauma – we’re actually perpetuating people’s helplessness by continuing to give money to shelters… I would like to see things done differently… When we talk about certain nonprofits reducing homelessness by 40%, how do we verify and validate those numbers? Anyone that’s been here for the last 10 years has watched homelessness explode exponentially.”
Motion
After public comment, which lasted over an hour, Commissioner Bryan Eastman said, “Someone referred to [tent sweeps] as a ‘whack-a-mole of violence’ earlier, which I thought was an intense way of putting it, but it’s not far off… At some point, a community just has to acknowledge that it is criminalizing the poverty that comes from having housing that is too expensive… There is a way where you can move people with dignity. It’s never easy, but there is a way to do it where it’s not just cruel and unusual.”
Eastman made a motion to direct staff to “work with GRACE Marketplace to immediately create 10 beds for homeless residents of our city. And begin long-term plans to renovate an existing vacant building and create 20 new beds, along with funding for support services and meals for those residents, not to exceed $700,000.” Commissioner Reina Saco seconded the motion.
Saco: Many suggestions are not viable
Saco thanked the speakers for “being advocates for a community that can’t be here.” She said many suggestions were made that are not viable: for example, Lynch Park has deed restrictions, and the City loses the right to use the property if it is ever used for something that’s not a park. She said the old fire station is structurally unsound, “and we can’t just have people on the parking lot because if something happens, we are liable… we would have to staff it with police, we would have to have security, we would have to treat it as if we treated another government building. And I don’t think y’all want officers standing around people, either, all night… We should help people not have to live in a tent in a parking lot. We want something better than that, and we’re trying to do that right now with the motion we just made.”
People in the audience began arguing with Saco, and Mayor Harvey Ward had to ask them to stop.
Saco continued, “No one’s gonna like this: The GPD budget cannot be reduced. It is illegal to reduce the GPD budget. Everyone up here would get removed and replaced by someone else, by the Governor’s office… We are trying with the funds that we have.” She said she was glad that representatives from County government were in the room because they’re “another funding source that does have money, much more money, and social services is one of their responsibilities by law.” She suggested that the people in the audience “go across the street to the County and tell them to help… They can do it, just as we did, right now. We rearranged funds; the County could do that as well.”
Commissioner Casey Willits said the City should not be telling people to go to GRACE Marketplace if there are no beds available. Curry said that on Tuesday, “because of the blocking of the sidewalk and the right-of-way, that particular situation did not require a GRACE transition. If they were in the right-of-way or in a park or other public place, we would then be required to offer the transition to GRACE or some other facility, but not the situation that we were dealing with, the sidewalk and the street.”
Can infrastructure surtax funds be used?
Willits asked about the portion of infrastructure surtax funds that the City allocated to affordable housing, and Curry said the law requires those facilities to be purchased by the City. She said staff is working on presenting a plan to the Commission, and that would likely require a long-term bond because it would be a major purchase. Willits asked if the money can be used on short-term housing, and Curry deferred to Phil Mann, Special Adviser to the City Manager, who said the surtax is limited to the purchase of property for affordable housing, and the money can’t be used for renovations.
Willits urged everyone to talk to their state representatives “and see if we can have a little more flexibility” because cities the size of Gainesville don’t typically own housing complexes: “we tend to subsidize and leverage,” but although cities built more housing in the past, that is less common now.
Book: “We’re putting it all towards one organization”
Commissioner Ed Book said that reallocating almost three-quarters of a million dollars is “no small thing,” but he said he wished they’d had time “to have some of our other nonprofits also provide some specs that would allow us to address, more comprehensively, homelessness and houselessness. So we’re putting it all towards one organization, which is a valuable organization.” He pointed out that the City Commission had allocated $7.2 million in ARPA funds for affordable housing a year ago, “so we’re looking in the long run.” He also pointed out that the $700,000 will only support those beds through September 30, 2024, although part of it is going to one-time costs.
Ward: Other Alachua County officials “need to start acting like [they’re part of this responsibility]”
Ward said, “This is not the end of the discussion; this is a step we’re taking.” He said the issue requires a “constant response that… requires the State of Florida not being near the bottom of the list for mental health services every single year, it requires a serious approach to acknowledge mental health and addiction services, it requires a lower barrier for physical health services, and those are things that cities, quite simply, are not able to approach.”
Ward said the surrounding counties “basically don’t provide services… Our surrounding cities, even in Alachua County, don’t provide services… Elected officials in Alachua County all bear some of this responsibility. And I mean all the officials in Alachua County – they’re part of this responsibility, and we need to start acting like that is the case… I am asking everyone to think a little harder about that, and every institution, including the University of Florida, UF Health, everyone to dig a little deeper into what we’re doing.”
Eastman amended his motion to clarify that the funding will come from American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds.
Willits suggests that GRU Authority “deed part of [the Power District property] over to the City”
Willits said that the City Commission no longer has any authority over the Power District property that the GRU Authority plans to sell, but there is a joint GRU Authority/City Commission meeting at 1:00 on February 28, and “if you want to talk to GRU Authority members,… if you want to tell them that they should deed part of it over to the City for some reason, great… I want to make sure folks know that… the state legislature decided that that property is not to be decided about by this Commission; instead it is the four people that the Governor appointed who will determine that 10s of millions of dollars worth of property.”
The motion passed unanimously.
My God, where does it end? Bleeding hearts running the bill up for idiots who can’t figure out for themselves Florida is too expensive to live in. This is a “you build it they will come” problem.
NCF’s version of California-cation at the hands of local democrat leadership and guidance. And look what southern California has become? A wasteland of it’s once glorious self, fact! Imagine Gainesville in another five to ten years from now is just frightening!
I’m sure glad I left to an adjoining county next door and no longer go to downtown Gainesville to spend my entertainment dollars.
This is a national problem created by court rulings 40 years ago which still stand. Most of these people would have been committed to mental institutions back then and/or in jail every night for loitering. You can’t do either any more, so they live on our streets because they are dysfunctional humans as there always have been and always will be. Yes, there are almost certainly more now because of drugs, but Gainesville didn’t create the problem which exists in every town and county in America. Blaming it on local governments is howling at the moon, a favorite past time on this comment bard.
They “closed the slums” and, wouldn’t you know, they moved the slums our parks and sidewalks… at least back in the day the shanty wasn’t in the middle of a business district or near places full of kids.
As a builder who sometimes gets in on design, I value the intended purposes of projects, and public parks as camping grounds is not intended and ruins the intended experience of most of the citizens who paid for them. Yes, this is destructive to the community, and our sympathy or empathy for those who are dysfunctional temporarily or permanently should not dictate misuse of public spaces. I accept that “fixing” this problem will require more money, one way or the other, or we just let our public spaces become “slums” rather than the pleasant to grand meeting places they were built for.
They come to Florida because it’s warm, and they come here because of all the students they can take advantage of and victimize. And now we have disGRACE Marketplace luring them here. It’s not “the same everywhere,” Jazzfool.
The previous article quoted a local expert on the fact that somewhere around 75% of local homeless are from Gainesville with a lesser number from neighboring counties. Marion counties population is not much different from Alachua County, Yes, they have warm weather – as does California. What do you suggest we do about that?
The “local expert” has a conflict of interest because he directly benefits from funds spent on GRACE Marketplace. He has also told the city commission in the past that homelessness is not a mental health or substance abuse problem, so take his “expertise” with a grain of salt.
Blame it on wanna be dictator republican fascist Trump. When Obama was President rents were reasonably priced. After Crooked Trump became President, rents went sky high as well as inflation because he botched handling the COVID epidemic. The dummy even caught COVID himself because he refused to be vaccinated. Only stupid people vote republican.
Actually, I put more blame on people like you who’ve voted for people like our local leadership – you’re all just a bunch of fiscally incompetent idiots.
Agreed.
Trump had nothing to do with the left sht hole that is Gainesville. You people believing that entitled trash will work for their needs if elected scum lay for their every want/need is laughable!!
You almost had it. You began with ad hominem, transitioned into an almost coherent argument for your position, but then transitioned back to ad hominem.
You think Trump got COVID only because he was not vaccinated?
I wonder what in the heck the vaccinated people who got sick had then? Couldn’t have been COVID by your assertion.
I hate to say this, and, I hope the LOrd will forgive me, but you are truly and uneducated idiot.
Only a very few of the homeless are priced out of the housing market, most not working, having transportation, or a family to help them over rough times. They are dysfunctional now and most will remain that way and unable to pay rent because they can’t hold a job.
A lot of them also have various medical and social issues. It’s complex.
Agreed. The fact that half the people in the cleared campsite had apparently bailed out the highest level of supportive housing shows they can’t function in society beyond existing out of a cardboard box. A $0 rent would still be too high.
There is always an element of society that will feel this is their lot in life. Others will take a hand and will progress.
We can fix a lot of things…but…not everything.
But it’s not a one size fix everything problem.
This is always going to be here. The question is who can we help and who…well..we can try to help but at some point we can’t.
Unfortunately you are absolutely right, there are even many veterans who have not been able to receive services due to the bureaucracy that our governments have created. Two years ago my wife and I came across a homeless couple here in Gainesville, we asked them the reason and they showed us documentation of 1.7 million dollars in debt for medical services, a teenage son with cancer who did not survive. They lost everything, even their faith in America.
More likely don’t want to.
Wow. Where to begin….let’s go low-hanging fruit first. It absolutely did NOT matter if you got a vaccination. People who were vaccinated, myself included, got COVID. Educate yourself. Next, rents went sky-high due to inflation, lack of inventory, rising mortgage rates on new homes, and the desire for people to live alone. Let’s see….who was the POTUS responsible for high inflation and high mortgage rates…hmmm. ‘Only stupid people vote republican’. Tell us you’re one of those ‘useful idiots’ who wear masks while alone without outright telling us….
The unvaccinated died in much higher numbers than vaccinated Americans.
Duh!
https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/united-states-rates-of-covid-19-deaths-by-vaccination-status
We now have our quack surgeon general recommending parents due whatever TF they want with their kids with measles, against decades of knowledge regarding successful vaccines and very high rates of contagion. Politicizing vaccines is stupid and evil and our governor and SG are virtual murderers who have spread information that was false, and given Ladipo falsified it, he knew it.
I like how you constantly invert reality. You sound like you’re sponsored by Pfizer
“A total of seven studies with 21,618,297 COVID-19 patients were included in the meta-analysis. The odds ratio (OR) for mortality among unvaccinated patients compared to vaccinated patients was 2.46 (95% CI: 1.71-3.53), indicating that unvaccinated patients were 2.46 times more likely to die from COVID-19.
The findings of this study support the effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccination in reducing mortality among infected individuals. Unvaccinated patients had a significantly higher risk of mortality compared to vaccinated patients. Vaccination remains a crucial strategy to mitigate the severity of the disease and reduce mortality rates. Efforts should be made to address vaccine hesitancy and ensure widespread vaccine coverage….”
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10492612/
Duh!
You forgot ‘safe and effective’ in your spiel. Believe what you want and vaxxxx up my friend. Good luck with that…it isn’t going to get much more obvious than it is now.
In government we trust, right?
Your blatant ignorance requires no further response.
“A total of seven studies with 21,618,297 COVID-19 patients were included in the meta-analysis. The odds ratio (OR) for mortality among unvaccinated patients compared to vaccinated patients was 2.46 (95% CI: 1.71-3.53), indicating that unvaccinated patients were 2.46 times more likely to die from COVID-19.
The findings of this study support the effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccination in reducing mortality among infected individuals. Unvaccinated patients had a significantly higher risk of mortality compared to vaccinated patients. Vaccination remains a crucial strategy to mitigate the severity of the disease and reduce mortality rates. Efforts should be made to address vaccine hesitancy and ensure widespread vaccine coverage….”
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10492612/
Data from the Pfizer / Bio N Tech randomized controlled trial found virtually identical all-cause mortality in the vaccinated vs placebo-controlled group. If the purpose of a vaccine is to save lives, all-cause mortality is the ultimate test.
This independent analysis was published in Fall 2023 – only after the raw data was released following a long court battle
https://ijvtpr.com/index.php/IJVTPR/article/view/86
Once again, Jazz, you refuse to confront the ‘meat’ of the article and the ‘meat’ of the complete non-sequitur that Paulie stated above. He blamed Trump for the current high cost of living. Yet again, statements made with feelings instead of facts. By failing to address facts, and the TRUE person to blame for the current high cost of housing, both of you continue to espouse liberal talking points and continue to blame the boogeyman instead of accepting responsibility for electing the worst, most racist POTUS in American history.
?? I felt no need to respond to nonsensical claims from either side including yours. Yes the economy impacts the number of homeless but it did not create the problem,, nor is whoever is president largely, let alone fully, usually responsible for the economy. FWIW a poll of historians recently ranked Biden our 14th most successful president and Trump our worst. One could argue about Biden’s position but not Trump’s. Neither had much to do with homelessness in Gainesville.
https://thehill.com/homenews/4476288-presidential-experts-rank-biden-14th-among-presidents-in-survey-trump-comes-in-last/
Bedwetter. it is always the fault of someone else. Grow-up paulie – girl.
so what about the people who have gotten 4 or 5 jabs and have still gotten covid? also, when he got it the Vaccine wasn’t widely available. sure, he could have stepped in front of the line as president, but there were still many on waiting lists depending on local policies.
Anyone who had 4-5 of those shots will have major immune system issues. It’s all smoke and mirrors. Don’t believe the TV/govt narrative. Many many many ppl never got “Covid”, including my entire family. Trump, the self proclaimed father of the vaccine wasn’t truly naive enough to take that junk…He isn’t dumb, he’s just very good at trickery. Covid operation was planned long ago..it wasn’t some freak accident from bay soup or a lab leak guys!
This lady is much more in tune with reality: https://sashalatypova.substack.com/p/summary-of-everything-and-quick-links
It sounds like an awful lot of money for some beds in a big room. And DeCarmine seems like a real piece of work. Why put so much trust in someone who looks like his job could be selling stolen merchandise out of the back of a van?
“Put your Faith in GRACE!” — Not me, sorry.
Do people even look in the mirror before they go out? The girl in the picture should be using that mask to cover more than just her face. 😝
That’s ’bout all needs be said ’bout that.
She’s a 🐷 with a mask on! She needs to lay off the potatoe Chips
And cola with the food stamps!
Oink oink! Like Sako and the other diaper face on the ACSB
Kat was there?
Hey, I never comment on people’s appearance relative to their opinions – I am about 10 lbs overweight and fairly fit for my age, largely genetics with a little bit of lifestyle, so I don’t mistake that for virtue – but for low lifes who do, at least be non-partisan.
Yes unfortunely I saw that too. If you are going to get up in public to speak wear something that fits and does not distract from what you are trying to say.
True that! I guess there is some truth to “the elephant in the room.”
It would be cheaper to round up 30 homeless people with criminal histories and bus them to California where they promote homeless living and pay them to ve homeless.
Amen.
How about buying one way bus tickets out of town. You can ride Greyhound to Portland for $99.
Problem solved!
I like your thinking we could empty wokeville for less than 700,000 may that would discourage others from coming here if they knew they be sent to that SH** hole Portland
‘They’ could even use their *FREE* RTS bus passes for a ride to the Greyhound station at the Walmart on 23rd Street.
It’s all coming together!! Just an easy solution!
Unfortunately a certain group made forcibly transporting people to a location of our choosing taboo otherwise I would donate to this charitable cause.
What’s the plan when these ARPA funds run dry? Lots of long term commitments being approved.
More taxes.
That’s correct, more taxes. The homeless are a public problem involving people who used to be housed in mental institutions tax dollars paid for, jails which tax dollars paid for, or skidrow churches paid for by religious groups. They have always been with us and they are not going away.
Unfortunately. Unfortunate for many of us, those who claim they want to help are only offering up lip service and lots of political doublespeak. Really unfortunate they’re not going away because of the incentives our idiot leaders are giving away.
Meanwhile, our president wants to forgive student loan debts for people who are preparing for the future and to obtain a good jobs, instead of canceling the medical debts of thousands of HARD WORK families who are going through painful and irremediable processes.
“The Inflation Reduction Act for the first time authorizes Medicare to negotiate the prices of some high-cost prescription drugs with pharmaceutical companies, puts an annual $2,000 limit on how much Part D prescription drug plan members will have to pay out of pocket for their medications, and levies tax penalties on drugmakers that increase product prices by more than the rate of inflation. The new law also caps the cost of Medicare-covered insulin at $35 a month and eliminates out-of-pocket costs for most vaccines under Medicare.
The new law passed the U.S. Senate on Aug. 7 in a 51–50 vote, with Vice President Kamala Harris breaking the tie. The measure then cleared the House 220–207 on Aug. 12.
Medicare saves hundreds of billions of dollars over 10 years as a result of the new law, with the majority of the savings coming as a result of prescription drug price negotiations and the rebates to Medicare designed to encourage pharmaceutical companies to keep price increases to no more than the rate of inflation, according to an analysis by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office. ….. For the first time, out-of-pocket costs for Medicare Part D prescription drugs will be capped….”
And catapulted you and let’s go Brandon’s war on the American family. Inflation beyond reason
Tell us how you are proud of that and the recent University of Ga Sanctuary city Student murder
And it with the stroke of a pen it crushed tons of legitimate biotech startups.
$700,000 for 30 beds? They could build a huge warehouse type building with 100s of beds for under $700,000. This sounds like someone(s) is getting their pockets lined.
DH – it’s definitely a money maker for someone. Look at all the money going to “help” the homeless across the country…and what do we get from it?? more homeless!
Bingo, the only thing more untraceable than global warming spending is the homeless industry. Money gets dumped into a big pile to “help the homeless”, but where does it actually go? Who knows. It certainly doesn’t seem to have any positive effect.
Liberals think it is ok for working tax payers to have to pay for non working homeless people shelter and food. Just like they think it is ok for illegal aliens to get free crap also. Liberals (democrats founders of KKK, segregation, Jim Crowe, hate, racism, and slavery) are a cancer to the USA.
Jennifer – obviously you like to write & think you’re pretty good since you write 500 words too many. I question your topics – ALL “low hanging fruit”. Today’s topic plays directing to most of your readers & their typical comments. How about you share what your solution is? To the myriad of local, state, & fed issues? All you do is use this platform to rile your readership & please your advertisers. Nice picture too – very clever. Do some true investigative reporting for ALL your neighbors.
Jennifer is simply reporting facts on what happened.
But a follow up with the city manager would be interesting to have her explain what “business” was being conducted in those three tents.
Bill, I’ll throw in my 2 cents. There’s plenty of employment opportunities out there – that’s a start. Another is stop putting more burdens on those barely able to maintain a household; those added taxes, assessments, and high utility rates those you’ve elected locally only multiply the issue. Stop inviting the homeless to Gainesville with free stuff. If you don’t want a bunch of cats showing up on your front porch, don’t put food out.
Lastly, have the progressive liberals put a little more thought into those they vote for. That’ll help with most of the problem.
By the way, maybe those you’ve voted for in the past will start doing more for ALL of Gainesville, not just those that cry the loudest and think government owes them everything.
Do you require the same of the Gainesville Sun?
Bill, are you volunteering to help investigate? Have you contributed to the AC?
Let me guess… another aging “punk” guy trying to feel tough by standing up for another fat, half-crazy “punk” girl. I do miss the days when punk wasn’t synonymous with “special needs.”
Yeah, it’s pretty hilarious–there’s nothing more punk rock than sharing the exact same political views as multi-national corporations, the media, the government, the educational system, etc. Poseurs, all of them!
Bill, stick to CNN, and your feelings won’t be hurt. Remember the “Hopeless” homeless plan was to eliminate homelessness in 10 years. Problem is DeCarmine and his policies. Do background checks for one thing? A Danny Rollings, could be living out there. Bill what are your solutions? Do you have one? Or you just want to distract from the problem and blaming the Chronicle for reporting the facts. Have a Nice Day.
This is a free country you don’t have to read the chronicle
Jennifer you do a fine Reporting the facts just some people don’t like the truth
Jennifer, I appreciate your thoroughness and seeming fair mindedness reporting, but on this one I wondered if the public comments you quoted – which were overwhelmingly utopian left wing with references to Israeli genocide – were representative, given there was 1 hour of comment.
I try to provide a sample of each major point that is raised during public comment. The rest all said similar things about housing being a right and police being bad and the need to provide more housing and services for homeless people. Many mentioned being from the Civic Media Center.
Thanks
Bill- it’s not Jennifer’s job to come up with a solution. This is not an opinion piece.
It’s a free country, perhaps the Gainesville Sun or the Alligator would make you feel better.
This is all about a group of local elected officials wanting to solve the problems of the country and the WORLD on the backs of GRU customers and Taxpayers – no matter what the cost.
After Pegeen Hanrahan became Mayor pushing for the unnecessary and fiscally irresponsible multi billion dollar forest burning incinerator – AKA as the so-called renewable biomass plant – Democrats filed FIVE legal actions against the City and GRU to try to stop the madness and were demonized.
Local political groups and the defenders of the biomass tree burner financial debacle – many who campaigned for these REGRESSIVE Democrats – try to portray reasonable people – from ALL political affiliations – who care deeply for our homeless as haters – JUST for speaking out over the years about Grace Marketplace’s failures that has turned into a costly and dangerous enabling center as predicted – and wanting change.
They ran our utility into the ground and now appear to be running our city into the ground.
The lardbutt blimp in the photo does not appear starved for calories. Slobs like this should be forced to work for their food. Here’s a possible solution. Build barracks in some forest land. Send the welfare leeches off to work camps where they must grow food and raise some animals to eat. No work, no food. No free ride. Want to get rid of stray cats? Stop feeding them! Gainesville — home of loafing bums, bloodsuckers and government employee parasites who are just so generous with other people’s money. This whole country is circling the drain about to go down into the cesspool of abject third world status and places like Gainesville with its bleeding heart leftist “leadership” will lead the way into the sewer.
“I’m No Damn Libtard Communist” then tells some fat chick to go live at an off grid commune
Gainesville Conservation Corp….It is a thought….How about two choices: A ticket out of town or sign up with the Gainesville Conservation Corp. to earn room, board and a tax-free 8-9 bucks an hour?
Willful idiocy is a sin, too. Exploiting the poor for your own political platform and campaign donors is evil.
Just tell the career-homeless to get the hell out of college towns. Sure, there’s plenty of booze and drugs with all the non-judgmental students and ACLU lawyers here. But you’ll NEVER recover if you stay. Stop harassing the taxpayers on street corners.
Notice that none of the politicians or bureaucrats point out the attraction GNV offers people who CHOOSE to live off the grid and not obey the laws or mores of society. Put the tents back in Dignity Village, with a full time LEO. Stop the panhandling. LA SFran and NYC are perfect examples of what happens with the policies GNV Democrat politicians want here.
$700,000 for 30 beds? That is $23,333 each! There is a perfectly good EMPTY prison camp on E. University Avenue that probably can house 300 people with beds, showers, and industrial kitchen. Or, surely there is an empty warehouse somewhere. Not saying to put them in prison – just leave the gates open.
it is CRIMINAL to waste Tax-Payer money like this to house Bums and Drug-Addicts!
What’s of particular concern is the people saying government should provide a home for the homeless are the same who think Israel shouldn’t have defended itself from a known terrorist organization. Many are also those who think college tuition loans shouldn’t have to be repaid. Still others probably don’t even contribute to the local tax base, unless one counts bellying up to the bar or a local eating establishment. Safe to say likely to use their parents’ credit card.
That probably explains it.
It never stops with these libs, they just make it worse and worse. N95 masks have to be the new virtue signal of the decade. What a joke.
Expensive housing is not the problem. Drugs, alcohol and bad choices are the problem.
This sounds and smells like COMMUNISM, they said they would take over America w/o firing a shot, looks like we are letting them, especially with these ridiculous, “sanctuary city designations”.
Athens, Ga is a sanctuary city where the Student was murdered by Joe Biden illegal poster child. Hmmm.
One thing all these folks living at the Dis-Grace Center should be made to do is donate their, Food Stamps {EBT). This would help with food expenses. Instead of selling them for one of their vices.
Think About It…..I wish there was a “love” button!! Great idea!
Build it…and ‘they’ will come. I guess most liberals are lacking the logic theme and the rest of us will suffer because of it.
“She said about 12 people remain, and she said three of the tents “are used more for business purposes””
What kind of business would this be I wonder? How ‘happy’ do the customers look? …Long Time?
Why does a homeless shelter need internet and air conditioning?
Are we running a Motel 6?
Ward: “Elected officials in Alachua County all bear some of this responsibility.”
Hell, no! You welcomed them, you support them!
With the amount of money you all wasted you could have built a small town for the homeless.
The blame placing on the county in the meeting is simply a way to get them to do a transfer of funds from the county to the city imo.
Seeing how the county provided one time funds to grace for this year they are assuming it will work again, except maybe something more formalized so it’s annual line item in the county budget for the transfer and they don’t have to ask for it each year, dunno
A observation, slash question. I see Ward, Eastman. Willits, the Civic Media Center, saco, county official and more going on about shelter being human right, people cant live in tents, pass the buck onto the state, blah, blah, blah. My question is have any of these city commissioner, county officials, the civic media center, or any of these others opened their front doors of their homes to the homeless to provide shelter, opened their kitchens and refrigerators up to feed a hungry homeless person. I know the answer is more than likely “NO”. They dont want to see the people or hear from them. They are happy to pass the issue onto the next street so long as it’s not their property. I know they would let a homeless person use their bathroom. They are happy to let them crap all over the next person’s driveway and property so long as it’s not theirs. The best plan I have heard from several comments us to use the money to charter buses or buy one way tickets to California, Oregon, Washington, or Canada.
Dude, if taxpayers don’t provide shelter in camps or jails, they’ll be in tents around town. Pick one.
PS When you call for stiff jail time for 1st offenders, should we wonder why you don’t volunteer to have them chained in your spare bedroom? We solve collective problems collectively through government. It’s not a dirty word.
I will gladly have my tax dollars go to building high capacity prisons. Chain gangs are fine too. So long as they are chained and can’t run off. Any illegals rounded up we drop kick back across the border.
If they spent as many bucks as they pass, this housing issue could be solved. Instead, it’s always someone else’s responsibility/problem/fault.
Leftists are difficult to live with. Their landlords, roommates and family can’t stand them, so they want “living wages” and “affordable housing” for themselves alone. To be away from others who can’t stand them either.
If they were easy to live with, then they wouldn’t fear being homeless. They wouldn’t be SJWs at all.
The solution is simple: build deed restricted efficiency units for single occupants, no couples or families allowed. Make them owner-occupied, not rentals. The low monthly mortgages would be affordable by any min. wage or student indebted single adult. No section 8s needed.
And who should build these deed restricted efficiency units?
Am I the only one shocked to find that the city has to give three days warning for trespassing on public property before they can remove someone?
Unless it’s City Hall, then they have their Gestapo remove them before they pitch a tent.
Here is a dose of reality for you. Just had another conversation with my homeless relative, now living in NC because Gville became “too dangerous”, his words…he was given a gift (again) of a room to rent in a very nice sober living house. He had his monthly Invega shot about 2 – 3 weeks ago so he’s somewhat thinking logically, as good as it gets for him anyway….he’s all positive and going to AA meetings, doing all the right things but then…..he’s told he has to be up and out of the house by 9am and can’t return until 3pm every day. He does not like this and says he’s leaving at the end of the month. After an earful from me (again), he’s going to “try” to stay and he’ll just hang out on the streets from 9am – 3pm….can you guess how this is going to go???
I have to beg, fuss and fight him to get his shot every mth. The social services in place to help them with the counseling and medication are a joke. As a sane person, it has almost made me crazy trying to deal with these places. It’s a mess. A very complicated, sad mess.
Like someone said on here….$0 rent is too high. That is some truth!! Most cannot function freely in society. They will turn to drugs & alcohol to mask the pain and be numb enough to live like they do. Now mix no money/food with drugs/alcohol and you’ve got more violence and crime.
Money for more beds is not going to fix this. The humane answer is not making it easier for them to sleep on the streets. When you are dealing with mentally ill people, like my relative, they have to be locked up. We need more institutions, not “motels”. It sucks, it breaks my heart but that’s the only way to fix this problem and it is a BIG problem.
And to the hypocrites on here saying they do not believe people do not feel safe around homeless “camps” go spend a few nights out there with them. Until it is in your yard, sit down!
Sorry about your relative and thanks for the painful report. I agree that most of the homeless are not strivers who struggle from paycheck to paycheck, but adults who have given up, if they ever were capable of supporting themselves. We used to put them in jail overnight or commit them to mental institutions or the more resourceful among them would ride freight trains from place to place, but for largely legal reasons we can’t do those 1st 2 anymore.
So, what’s it gonna’ be? Pony up taxes for some form of regulated and reasonably safe temp housing (could be a tent with police presence) or put up with them on our streets and hopefully not our parks. I’m for the former and part of that is humane.
So wait…All I have to do is pitch a tent in the street to get a free pass for housing, internet, meals, healthcare, toiletries, security, furnishings, and round-the-clock security? One would have to be “out of their mind” not to take the City up on this offer! Oh, wait…
This is how Jacksonville FL is dealing with the homeless and the ones helping at intersections
Drivers can’t hand out cash or things like bottles of water while waiting at a major intersection, median or right of way.
Since the law went into effect full effect in March and the grace period ended, 69 people have been arrested and hundreds of citations have been issued.
RELATED: JSO has received 1,100 calls to report panhandlers this year; no one has applied for permit needed under new law
The law was designed to stop pedestrians from slowing down traffic or walking between cars to eliminate a dangerous road condition.
During the debate, City Council members discussed complaints from drivers about panhandlers.
and took a look at data that listed Jacksonville as the sixth deadliest city in the United States for pedestrians.
Since Jacksonville passed and started enforcing that law, the panhandling populations at intersections have dropped a lot.
At a typical busy intersection, pre-law you’d see at least one on each of the four corners, plus one in each of the medians.
Now? You might see one person at that same intersection.
You’ll still see people panhandling, but not nearly the density and aggressiveness as before.
Stop attracting more and more homeless to Gainesville with these handouts. You are making the situation exponentially worse. Our sleazy Gainesville City Commissioners are trying to get the county to take responsibility, but the city is the main pile of dung that is attracting these roaches from all over the country.
We need zero tolerance for panhandling and camping on sidewalks and parks. Gainesville was considered a hostile city to the homeless back in the day, and guess what? It was voted the best city in America. Now we are entering a death spiral where these zombies are taking over and ruining our public places.
Once the message gets out that there are no easy pickings in Gainesville, they will move on to the next group of suckers. Parasites like Jon DeCarmine that literally feed off the homeless industry will pack up as well.
The loud minority of people championing the poor wittle (violent / drug-addicted) homeless do so because they are uneducated, naïve, and childish. These are conmen and women, scammers who prey upon the weak and stupid. They don’t want help, they want eternal handouts.