Florida ban on homeless camps goes into effect

A new Florida law banning homeless people from camping on sidewalks, roadways, or the grounds of public parks went into effect on Tuesday. Local governments must relocate homeless people to shelters actively monitored by law enforcement. Authorities must prohibit drug use in those homeless shelters, according to the law. They must also ensure occupants have access to the resources they need to get back on their feet.

Why did Florida pass this law? Florida would uphold law and order while not allowing homeless encampments to erode citizens’ quality of life, Gov. Ron DeSantis said when he approved the law back in March. DeSantis accused California and New York of failing to sufficiently protect public safety by allowing homeless encampments in public places.

How does the state plan to enforce this? The law orders local governments to enforce the ban of homeless encampments and guarantee appropriate standards of living at homeless shelters. It allows financially constrained counties to avoid doing so if they can prove financial hardship would result from them enforcing the ban. The state government is authorized to sue any county that fails to enforce the ban, the law says.

What do critics have to say about it? Democratic state Senator Shevrin Jones criticized the law—then only a bill—earlier this year for failing to address the root causes of homelessness. The law just shuffled homeless people out of the public eye without actually providing them a way out of homelessness, he said.

Dig deeper: Read Addie Offereins’ report in Compassion about the efficacy of San Francisco’s effort to remove homelessness.