The new measure makes panhandling on a street median that’s 6 feet or less wide illegal.
While city and police officials insist the ordinance is not targeting them, people who are homeless and their advocates say there’s no question who will be hurt the most.
“I’m living on the streets,” said Charles Smith, 35, who has been panhandling in the city for about a month, “and now you want to fine me because I’m out here trying to make a living?”
Smith said it’s so much easier for panhandlers if they can stand along a median as drivers waiting at a red light have time to think about giving spare change.
According to statistics, 96 people were counted as homeless in 2021, a decrease from 178 in 2020. Author: Robert Bradfield Updated: 11:32 PM EST February 15, 2021
PUTNAM COUNTY, Fla. A decrease in the count of homeless people in Putnam County may not been seen as a positive for homeless advocates who say the official count is under-reported because of COVID-19.
Lori Shaw, of the Putnam County Homeless Coalition, said 96 people were officially categorized as living on the streets in 2021, which is a drop from the 178 who were counted last year.
Shaw believes the decrease may be because more homeless people are going deeper into the woods so they are not counted or some may have been taken in by family members during the state s shutdown last year.
Home/Florida Good/Alachua County Conducts 2021 Point-in-Time Count Amid Pandemic
Alachua County Conducts 2021 Point-in-Time Count Amid Pandemic
By Lillian Lawson
January 27, 2021
Dozens of volunteers met at Holy Trinity Episcopal Church early Tuesday with coffee and donuts in hand, ready for the annual point-in-time count of homeless people in Alachua County.
The volunteers found their team and zone assignments on a whiteboard. Each team gathered plenty of red care bags with toiletries, socks, ponchos and snacks to give to those without shelter.
Their goal: Spending the day finding and counting as many of the homeless population within the county as possible.
Gainesville officials say they aren t targeting panhandlers with a proposed law that would fine those who stand or sit in some traffic medians.
They are considered prime locations for numerous panhandlers across the city, but commissioners say the law is needed for safety.
Homeless advocates beg to differ, saying the proposed ordinance would further hurt a struggling population.
The law would not prohibit panhandling anywhere else on city property.
The Gainesville City Commission on Thursday gave the first of two nods to an ordinance that would allow police to impose a fine of $50 on anyone who sits or stands in a median 6 feet wide or less. Many of the city s intersections have medians that fall into that category.