Van Winkle: Gainesville’s homeless problems are no surprise

Letter to the editor

The recent complaints to Gainesville City Commissioners about homeless nuisance activities are not surprising. In fact, the City has done an abysmal job of managing the effects of the homeless population on citizens and businesses in Gainesville. Not only have the homeless become a more visible nuisance all over the city, but there have been a significant number of homeless arrests in the past several months that increase the threat to public safety. 

Quality of Life

Gainesville’s homeless problem has a direct impact on the quality of life of our citizens and businesses. New arrivals to Gainesville are greeted at the I-75 off-ramp by homeless beggars walking up to their cars. Many elderly and female citizens actively avoid certain intersections for fear that they will be accosted in their vehicles. Gas stations and convenience stores regularly call law enforcement to remove homeless who approach their patrons and scare customers away. All these issues impact how our citizens feel about Gainesville and how our visitors decide to spend their money when they are in town. City parks are overrun with homeless who leave garbage, human waste, and condoms in the same place that children should be playing. Many investments have been made by the City to make Main Street two lanes and to develop Depot Park. Still, there continue to be pockets of homeless people along Main Street who approach pedestrians and make them question their safety.

What Has Already Been Done?

There have been public discussions surrounding homeless activities in Gainesville for several decades. Both the City and County have spent millions of dollars to come up with solutions to manage the homeless issues in our area. In 2005, the City and County created a “10-Year Plan to End Homelessness” in Alachua County. A variety of initiatives were funded for many years, and the GRACE Marketplace was created in 2014. Though the GRACE Marketplace has had success in placing many homeless individuals over the years, the homeless problem in Gainesville has gotten worse. It is very visible, and it has certainly not ended.

Bad Press

Back in 2004 and 2009, the City of Gainesville was voted the fifth meanest city to the homeless by the National Coalition for the Homeless. This didn’t sound very good, but it was the result of local government doing their jobs and responding to the needs of citizens and businesses. The City and County shut down several “tent cities” that were on public and private property. These tent cities were unsanitary and unsafe, and many crimes were committed by the homeless, often against the homeless. Downtown Gainesville had homeless people all over the downtown plaza and other City parks. Business owners would arrive at their businesses every morning to find urine and feces on their doorsteps. Citizens stopped going downtown to the restaurants and bars because of aggressive panhandling and for fear of being robbed or attacked by the homeless.

Though the local ordinances and enforcement efforts by GPD were working, City Commissioners directed the City Manager to back off on enforcement. Over the years, enforcement activities have decreased, and the homeless problem has gotten worse. In the past six months, there have been numerous homeless people arrested for a variety of crimes: indecent exposure near campus, burglary and grand theft at a hotel on Archer Road, armed robbery at a store north of downtown, occupied residential burglary, and many others. These are not nuisance crimes – they are a direct threat to the public. Homeless advocates often claim that most arrests of the homeless are due to restrictive local ordinances that “target” the homeless. However, that is not what’s happening in Gainesville, and it is time for our local leaders to act.

What Needs to be Done?

Homelessness is a social issue that will not come to an end because the government publishes a plan to make it go away. Instead, many things must be done by public and private entities to help reduce the problem of homelessness. The City and County will likely continue to fund the GRACE Marketplace and work to direct the homeless to public and private resources that can help them get medical assistance, housing, and jobs. 

Homelessness has become a nuisance in Gainesville, and it is our governments’ collective job to manage the nuisance and keep the homeless “in check” so that citizens and business owners feel safe. The City Commission must enact ordinances that have proven successful in other Florida cities in managing the homeless. City management should empower GPD to conduct enforcement to get the homeless off the street corners and out of the parks to reduce the public nuisance and increase safety. 

Lastly, Gainesville’s citizens need to understand that giving cash directly to homeless beggars will most likely go directly to alcohol or drug use. This is not a myth – it’s a fact. Many people give cash to appease the homeless and make them go away. One thing is certain – giving cash to beggars encourages more people to beg, thus increasing the magnitude of the problem.

It’s time for our leaders to deal with the homeless problem before Gainesville becomes another San Francisco or Los Angeles. We are already well on our way there.

Ed Van Winkle

Ed Van Winkle is a retired Captain with the Gainesville Police Department, where he served for 20 years in a wide variety of assignments, including patrol, detectives, narcotics, training, SWAT, and aviation. Ed worked as the District Commander of the area including downtown Gainesville, and GPD’s enforcement efforts focused on reducing homeless nuisances made significant positive impacts on citizens and businesses.

The opinions expressed by letter or opinion writers are their own and do not necessarily represent the views of AlachuaChronicle.com. Letters may be submitted to info@alachuachronicle.com and are published at the discretion of the editor.