A homeless person sleeps on Bay Street in Downtown Jacksonville on Saturday, Feb. 15, 2024. | Michelle Corum, Jacksonville Today
Published on February 19, 2025 at 3:21 pm
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Jacksonville sheriff’s officers have made 146 arrests since a new homeless law took effect in Florida to prohibit sleeping in public spaces.
The Sheriff’s Office reported the number during a meeting Wednesday with City Council members including Ron Salem, chair of the council’s Finance Committee. The agency said it has given out 631 warnings since the new law began.
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The law prohibits municipalities from letting people sleep in public as of Oct. 1. Members of the public can sue if they think cities are not following the law.
A team from the Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department — called PATH, for Providing Assistance to the Homeless — is striving to connect the homeless with services.
The PATH team reported 1,200 interactions since beginning its work. An effort called Homeward Bound has bussed 67 people back to their hometowns since January in an attempt to unite them with support systems.
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Chief Keith Powers told council members the team is seeing fewer unsheltered people Downtown and is addressing specific complaints in the Beach Boulevard area, specifically at a bus stop along there.
Councilman Rory Diamond pressed the council to get similar services for the Beaches communities and asked the council for a deadline to get it addressed.
Diamond also asked Powers whether the PATH teams are checking people “to see if they’re in Florida and/or our country illegally?”
“I don’t think so,” Powers answered, ”I think we’re just getting their demographics and we’re not paying attention to that. We’re just getting them help.”
Capt. Jen Parramore described some of the team’s notable successes.
“I’ve had a woman that’s in the women’s center at Trinity (Rescue Mission). She’s been battling opioid abuse. … She’s doing very well.”
Parramore said the majority of people approached came here from outside Jacksonville.
“Our whole team is passionate about this. A little compassion goes a long way,” she said.
