JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Duval County’s homeless shelters are running out of space and the Beaches have become a magnet for the homeless in our area.
Those were two highlights of a discussion Tuesday morning, as Jacksonville City Council members heard an update on the rollout of the state-mandated ban on public sleeping and camping.
>>> STREAM ACTION NEWS JAX LIVE <<<
Since enforcement of the state-mandated ban on public sleeping and camping began in November, there have been 589 warnings, 86 arrests, and 93 people sent back to their hometowns through the Homeward Bound Program.
Forty-four of 110 planned new shelter beds have opened, and according to the Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department, the new beds were all officially filled as of Monday.
“We have got a contract now out to Salvation Army. They have sent it to their corporate office to be approved and we’re waiting on that to come back so we can open up some more beds,” JFRD Chief Keith Powers said.
That stat is concerning to Councilman Raul Arias (R-District 11), who argued with JFRD reporting 900 contacts with homeless individuals, more beds can’t wait.
Read: ‘Compassionate approach’: Jacksonville council approves $1.3M for additional homeless shelter beds
“Just get all the beds done right now instead of having to do it in phases, cause clearly there’s a demand,” Arias said.
Councilmember Rory Diamond (R-District 13) also expressed concerns.
He argued the focus on homelessness downtown has been detrimental to the beaches.
[DOWNLOAD: Free Action News Jax app for alerts as news breaks]
“So, now we’re having encampments exploding across District 13,” Diamond said.
Compounding the problem, he argued, is the Beaches are unable to access services recently funded by the council, including the Homeward Bound Program and JFRD’s outreach teams.
Diamond said he voted for that funding under the impression the Beaches would have access, but the Office of General Counsel recently determined those communities do not.
[SIGN UP: Action News Jax Daily Headlines Newsletter]
“The Beaches pay all this money in taxes, and now the Deegan Administration is saying you can’t use any of this money that you’ve paid to help with the homelessness out at the Beaches even though she’s pushing the homelessness out to the Beaches. It’s crazy,” Diamond said.
Council Finance Chair Ron Salem (R-Group 2 At-Large) said he is open to legislation ensuring the Homeward Bound Program and JFRD can operate to address homelessness at the beaches.
Those discussions will likely happen in the coming weeks.
Click here to download the free Action News Jax news and weather apps, click here to download the Action News Jax Now app for your smart TV and click here to stream Action News Jax live.
