Two people camp out in March in the grass off Newnan and East Bay streets. | Michelle Corum, Jacksonville Today
Published on November 12, 2024 at 3:30 pm
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Jacksonville is seeking to add bed space at homeless shelters to comply with a new state law that seeks to prevent people from camping on public streets.
New City Council legislation would allocate $1.33 million to add beds at three shelters — 44 beds at Trinity Rescue Mission, 26 at City Rescue Mission and 40 at Salvation Army.
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The bill says the move would protect the city against lawsuits from anyone who claims the city is not following the new homeless law.
The bill was expected to be introduced Tuesday night. It will get its first public hearing Nov. 26.
The new state law took effect Oct. 1. It prohibits municipalities from allowing homeless people to sleep in public or camp on public property and rights of way without a permit.
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A new Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department team is trying to move those people to a safe place and to give them access to mental health and substance abuse programs.
“Our next work is going to be on expanding the number of shelter positions,” Deegan said Tuesday on First Coast Connect on WJCT News. “That’s where we had asked for additional money in the budget, which we did not get, at least so far. I think we have 500 shelter beds which are mostly full right now, so that’s going to become an issue for us.”
City Council did approve $2.5 million to address the homeless situation when it passed the city budget in late September. But it was much less than a proposed $10 million, five-year plan to help the city handle the state’s homeless law, Deegan said.
Under the latest legislation, each of the shelters would be paid for the cost of adding beds. As a condition of receiving the money, they would have to provide 24-hour-a-day coordination and intake support, as well as capacity information available online and telephone by firefighters and police.
The shelters also would be required to jointly staff a shelter hotline on a weekly rotating basis and to provide secure storage for personal belongings.
The Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department would coordinate with Trinity Rescue, City Rescue and Salvation Army to track results so that “real-time adjustments can be made to improve effectiveness and address areas that are under- or over-resourced,” the bill states.
The bill stresses that emergency passage is requested because there is an “immediate need” to comply with the new state law.
“As we get into the colder months, that will become a bigger issues for us,” Deegan said. “So time is of the essence that we continue to put this plan into place.”
The legislation was introduced by Council President Randy White and his predecessor, Ron Salem.
The bill reminds everyone that the new homeless law allows residents, business owners and the attorney general to sue the city for “authorizing or allowing regular public camping and sleeping that is not otherwise permitted under the statute.” The ability to sue starts Jan. 1.
