Respectfully submitted by Lawrence E. Rafferty (rafflaw)-Weekend Contributor
Did you know that somewhere in America, it is illegal to feed the homeless in public? It can’t be true can it? It is true in Fort Lauderdale, Florida after the recent passage of an ordinance by the city council. The real scary part of that news is that Fort Lauderdale is not alone in taking this anti-compassionate stance!
“Over 30 cities across the nation have outlawed or are considering criminalizing the provision of food to homeless people. According to the National Coalition for the Homeless, over 20 cities have devised laws against giving food to homeless people since January 2013.” Nation of Change
While I can understand this stance if these cities are adding health guidelines to make such feeding attempts safer, I am shocked that over 30 cities have outlawed it or are considering outlawing the practice of giving food to the hungry and homeless. Are public picnics next on the hit list?
Why would any city want to stop the feeding of the homeless in public? Just who are these brigands who are trying to destroy the city of Fort Lauderdale by having the audacity to feed the hungry?
“In an act of compassion and civil disobedience, a 90-year-old man and two pastors in Fort Lauderdale openly defied a new city ordinance barring anyone from feeding homeless people in public. After police intervened and charged them with a crime, 90-year-old Arnold Abbott and Pastor Dwayne Black returned several days later to break the draconian law again. Although Abbott received another citation, police decided not to place him in custody.
Last Sunday, Arnold Abbott, Pastor Dwayne Black of The Sanctuary Church in Fort Lauderdale, and Mark Sims of St. Mary Magdalene Episcopal Church in Coral Springs fed homeless people in a public park in South Florida two days after the city passed a new ordinance outlawing the provision of food to vagrants in public. After getting arrested, the two pastors and elderly homeless advocate each face a $500 fine and up to 60 days in jail.
“One of the police officers said, ‘Drop that plate right now,’ as if I were carrying a weapon,” recalled Abbott. “It’s man’s inhumanity to man is all it is.”
On Wednesday evening, Abbott and Pastor Black remained undeterred as they served a four-course meal to nearly 100 homeless people at Fort Lauderdale Beach. After police officers recorded the simple act of kindness on their video cameras, they escorted Abbott away from the crowd to fingerprint him and issue another citation. Wary of public backlash, law enforcement officials chose not to place Abbott in handcuffs and haul him off to jail again.” Nation of Change
The City of Fort Lauderdale claims that they don’t want hungry and homeless people fed in public because they claim it will only keep them from trying to get out of the cycle of homelessness. Of course, one has to wonder if the real reason might be related to the tourism trade that brings in big dollars to Fort Lauderdale. After all, it seems that this latest ordinance to ban the feeding of the homeless in public is just one of the anti-homeless ordinances passed by the city fathers of Fort Lauderdale.
“Backed by the Chamber of Commerce, the recent city ordinance is the fourth law Fort Lauderdale has passed this year against the homeless. The other laws ban homeless people from panhandling at traffic intersections and outlaw sleeping or storing their belongings on public property. According to Pastor Black, the recent food-sharing ordinance passed after a long meeting past midnight after many people had gone home.
“It’s a pubic safety issue. It’s a public health issue,” Fort Lauderdale Mayor Jack Seiler rationalized. “The experts have all said that if you’re going to feed them to get them from breakfast to lunch to dinner, all you’re doing is enabling that cycle of homelessness.”
One of these so-called experts is Ron Book, a city lobbyist who commended the Fort Lauderdale commissioners for passing the ordinance. Book told the commissioners that feeding impoverished people on the streets merely sanctions homelessness. Book added, “Whatever discourages feeding people on the streets is a positive thing.” ‘ Nation of Change
I just love it when experts turn out to be lobbyists pedaling their bosses wares. Mr. Abbot has made it his life’s work to help the poor and this isn’t the first time he has fought with Fort Lauderdale over feeding people in public. He won a court case against the city in 1999 over this same issue and Fort Lauderdale may be looking at another court case over this issue.
While I do understand that large groups of homeless people can impact the look and feel of any city, the realities of how many of these people end up on the streets is no mystery. However, it seems that Fort Lauderdale would rather punish the poor and the people trying to help them rather than attempt to help solve some of the problems that leads people into the streets.
Mr. Abbott and the ministers have taken it upon themselves to treat these homeless people as humans and strive to provide them with a meal. Fort Lauderdale gets an early Grinch award for punishing the modern-day Samaritans who are doing the job that Fort Lauderdale refuses to do. Kudos to these individuals who are risking themselves to help the less fortunate.
I think it is time for the Mayor and the City Council to start rolling up their sleeves and helping feed and house and treat the homeless. Or get out-of-the-way. What do you think?
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So you can’t feed people in public – SAFETY ISSUE – so does that mean that folks having a picnic in a park will now go to jail?
Or is the feed in public OK as long as it’s white folks driving SUV’s are the ones getting fed?
Smells like selective enforcement to me
I don’t think the link paints a different picture at all as this is what was in the link – As part of our comprehensive strategy, the City has passed new ordinances that aim to reduce the public safety hazards and inappropriate nuisance activities that are negatively impacting our community. As a City, we have a responsibility to ensure that all of our public spaces are accessible and can be safely enjoyed by everyone – families, children, residents and visitors.
Our quality of life in Fort Lauderdale and our economic viability are directly linked to our stewardship of public spaces. The City continues to provide leadership in the implementation of innovative ideas to protect our quality of life while ensuring continued funding for programs and initiatives that address humanitarian needs.
The City, our neighbors, and our businesses have a long and distinguished history of compassion toward those in need.
To me it sounds like homeless people are not allowed to enjoy beaches and parks. Just go to the United Way, Salvation Army and so forth. Nothing natural that is Gods gift for the homeless thank you very much.
I think that raffaws article was passionate and right on and I was cheering him on all the way through it and I opened the link because I am on to the hope and change that government agencies offer for the homeless as opposed to good old fashioned free will charity and the Church which is not popular anymore. 🙂
Funny stuff. Banksters rob and pillage the nation to the tune of trillion$ and bring it to the brink of economic collapse and they are rewarded with huge bonuses and oversize retirement packages. No one goes to jail. Politicians give mufti billion$ contracts to defense firms for weapons the Pentagon says it doesn’t want or need and these same politicians cut food stamps. No one is arrested. Halliburton subsidiary designs faulty showers that electrocute troops. No one pays a price. But feed a homeless person and the law will handcuff you and throw your butt in jail. Stunning, but apparently that’s the new America. Feed the wealthy and starve the poor.
Johanssonmel,
Some folks even compare them to pigeons.
I doubt the people feeding the homeless outdoors are merely grandstanding or looking for attention, obviously there is a NEED and they recognize it and take action. Good for them.
Olly,
Thanks for your response and your link to the Mayor’s statement. Here is the link noted in the Nation of Change article that I linked earlier from Channel 10 that paints a different picture than the Mayors. http://www.local10.com/news/police-charge-90yearold-man-2-pastors-with-feeding-the-homeless/29510268
I’ve read various accounts of this Ft Lauderdale law and the controversy surrounding it, and the thing that stands out to me is the language of those who defend it.
They talk about the homeless as if they were vermin, describing how public areas are becoming “overrun” with them. The FL mayor’s statement boils down to “Don’t feed them; they’ll keep coming back,” as if they were stray dogs.
The tacit understanding is that public areas are for people like us, not people like them. They’re unsightly, they smell bad, and they make us feel guilty and uncomfortable. We’re here in the park to enjoy a lovely sunny day and they are marring the landscape.
We just want them to go and be hungry and unwashed somewhere we don’t have to look at them. Is that so much to ask?
Instead of giving hand outs of food on the street or in the public parks, it would be a MORE humane thing to set up those rescue missions or homeless shelters as is done in a nearby town.
There the homeless can get meals, take showers, do their laundry, sleep in safety (especially important for families with children who are homeless). From this sheltering, they are steered towards more long term housing. Guided to medical centers and to get medical attention. Job training and job placement is also a big part of these centers. Additional clothing for those who don’t have it also to help in getting jobs and in general improving conditions and improving morale.
Most of the centers are religious based, but there are also a couple that are not. The Soroptomists have a special program for homeless and battered women.
Just handing out food and grandstanding is not the answer.
Feeding the homeless outdoors looks infinitely better than starving people laying in the gutter. I doubt we want to emulate Bangladesh. We still are a country that takes care of it’s vulnerable. When we stop caring for the least of us, we’ve lost our humanity.
Since it appears too onerous for people to read the linked letter from the Mayor, here is the full transcript:
“Innovative Leadership Key to Addressing Homelessness
Let’s set the record straight.
Contrary to reports, the City of Fort Lauderdale is not banning groups from feeding the homeless. We have established an outdoor food distribution ordinance to ensure the health, safety and welfare of our community. The ordinance does not prohibit feeding the homeless; it regulates the activity in order to ensure it is carried out in an appropriate, organized, clean and healthy manner.
While the ordinance regulates outdoor food distribution, it permits indoor food distribution to take place at houses of worship throughout the City. By allowing houses of worship to conduct this activity, the City is actually increasing the number of locations where the homeless can properly receive this service.
At recent outdoor food distributions, citations were rightly issued for non-compliance with the process enacted to ensure public health and safety. Contrary to what was reported in the media, no one was taken into custody. Had these activities taken place indoors, at a house of worship, they would have been in full compliance with the ordinance.
Experts agree, however, that homeless individuals need more than just food. The homeless need shelter, clothing, and comprehensive medical and social services in order to help them get back on their feet.
Few cities have done more for the homeless than Fort Lauderdale. We are taking a comprehensive approach by working with numerous agencies, non-profit, charitable and faith-based organizations that, like us, are dedicated to effectively addressing this complex and important issue. Our overarching goal is to provide a long-term comprehensive solution for the homeless population. While aiming for that goal, we are concurrently working to protect public safety and maintain quality of life for our neighbors, businesses and visitors.
Our efforts include:
Fort Lauderdale was the first City in South Florida to establish a dedicated Homeless Outreach Unit as part of its Police Department. This Unit makes approximately 8,000 referrals a year working with the homeless to provide them with access to housing, critical medical care and social services. The award-winning initiative stands as a model that has been replicated by local, state, and national police departments and law enforcement agencies across the country.
Fort Lauderdale is home to the only full service comprehensive Homeless Assistance Center in Broward County. The Center has been operating here since 1999. Recently, the Fort Lauderdale City Commission unanimously passed an ordinance allowing the Homeless Assistance Center to expand its size and scope of operations to accommodate more beds and serve more homeless.
The City maintains an active partnership with Mission United, a program dedicated to providing housing and social services to homeless Veterans.
In addition to Mission United, the City maintains partnerships, provides resources and support to Broward County, the Broward Partnership for the Homeless, Housing Authority of the City of Fort Lauderdale, Salvation Army of Broward County, United Way of Broward County, Hope South Florida, and the Task Force for Ending Homelessness. These partnerships represent an outstanding example of how homelessness needs to be addressed – by bringing together a variety of agencies and organizations to collaborate, share resources, and leverage strengths in a unified effort to comprehensively impact homelessness through the coordination and delivery of essential programs and services.
Fort Lauderdale is the only city in South Florida and one of 235 communities in the United States taking part in the 100,000 Homes Campaign, a national effort to move disabled, chronically homeless people from the street to a place of their own. Using the motto “Housing First,” the campaign reverses the traditional approach that required the homeless to go through addiction counseling and job training before earning a roof over their heads.
Through the Housing First program, Fort Lauderdale is providing the most vulnerable homeless individuals with housing, medical, and social services. The program is funded by a $441,000 federal grant that the City of Fort Lauderdale secured from HUD. It is currently providing permanent supportive housing for 22 chronically homeless people.
The City is proud to report that our initiative was recently re-funded by HUD. During the current year, we will have an additional $455,000 to continue to operate and expand this effort to serve even more chronic and vulnerable homeless in our City.
As part of our comprehensive strategy, the City has passed new ordinances that aim to reduce the public safety hazards and inappropriate nuisance activities that are negatively impacting our community. As a City, we have a responsibility to ensure that all of our public spaces are accessible and can be safely enjoyed by everyone – families, children, residents and visitors.
Our quality of life in Fort Lauderdale and our economic viability are directly linked to our stewardship of public spaces. The City continues to provide leadership in the implementation of innovative ideas to protect our quality of life while ensuring continued funding for programs and initiatives that address humanitarian needs.
The City, our neighbors, and our businesses have a long and distinguished history of compassion toward those in need.
We encourage those groups that are feeding the homeless to partner with agencies and organizations that, like Fort Lauderdale, are taking a comprehensive approach to this issue so that we can begin to make real progress – instead of enabling the downward cycle of homelessness to continue.
If you would like to make a contribution to local non-profit agencies that help fund homeless assistance, substance abuse, and community support services in Fort Lauderdale, please visit: http://www.fortlauderdale.gov/give
Again, thank you for your interest in this important humanitarian issue.
Mayor John P. “Jack” Seiler
City of Fort Lauderdale, Florida”
Hi Jonathan,
I suspect the reason Lauderdale made this rule is for public image. They don’t want potential travelers to see indigents on the beaches! It may be similar in many other cities.
Candy, in WI
The nanny state doesn’t like us treading on there turf. These people need to be relying on the govt. for their needs not ordinary people. Just think of the horrible message that would be created if people started realizing that they didn’t need the nanny state. I would think progressives would like these types of laws.
It isn’t illegal to feed the homeless. It is WHERE he is doing this activity. Public property. Public park or other venue. They can set up homeless food centers in other places. To set up a food distribution center on public property creates all sorts of hazards: health hazards and public safety hazards.
The man had probably been warned several times to cease and move his charity to another location. He is flaunting the laws and creating purposely public annoyance as well as hazards. Garbage, homeless defecating in the public park, loitering and all sorts of other public issues.
If this man is affiliated with a church, then why don’t they set up a service for this AT the church or on other private property. There are several ‘rescue’ missions and other shelters in a town nearby where the homeless can find meals, take showers, sleep in safety. Instead of using the public’s property for this…use private property.
Just like feeding the pigeons from your lovely park bench. At first it seems like a nice idea and the birds seem to be grateful. But soon you have flocks of angry pecking pigeons demanding more and more food. Squawking and pestering you. Pooping all over the place and making it impossible to enjoy your peaceful park bench anymore.
Jack Seiler is the mayor of Fort Lauderdale. He is an attorney. Jack served in the Florida House of Representatives prior to be electing mayor of Fort Lauderdale. Jack Seiler is a Democrat. As we know, NOBODY loves to REGULATE more than Democrats.
A society will be judge on how it treats its most vulnerable. Nothing more need be said.
I read about this earlier and what a storm has been created by this. And, the city officials have only themselves to blame for it.
First, why was this man booked? He is 90 years old and it is a minor misdemeanor. There is no excuse for that. If he must be charged they could easily issue him a citation/summons and bind him for court later.
The issue presents two sides.
From the business point of view congregations of homeless people make customers feel uncomfortable and many, if not most, will go elsewhere. That can cause economic harm to the business owners especially small family run businesses that have a small store front. Entire blocks can be affected by this in many large cities. Panhandlers drive away many people. Whether this is immoral or not people are deterred and go elsewhere. The city does have some obligation to keep its residents and businesses from feeling unsafe and economic development. It is not just the business owners, but if businesses do not succeed it leads to less employment and business to business transactions lessen.
The other side is the moral side where charity and alms such as this benefit other human beings in that someone is providing life giving nourishment and comfort to others. The man here is associated with a church and his beliefs are such, I am presuming, that all individuals are valued equally, that it doesn’t matter if they are wealthy or downtrodden they are equals before God. In many ways some are not comfortable, or have the means to accept government aid, especially when they lack permanent places of address and receiving government benefits is difficult, so reliance upon the alms of individuals or charities is the only stable means for which these homeless individuals receive benefits. Otherwise, they rely upon bad options that are not healthy or nurturing to their well being. That someone is willing to take charity to those in need is a cultural aspect of our society. One could argue from a legal point of view he man is expressing his religious rights in providing alms to others and the state is interfering with it. The state is prohibited from barring individuals from lawfully assembling and engaged in religious acts on public sidewalks. I believe it could be argued on those merits. As for the public health and safety issue many states, I don’t know if FL is one of them, have good Samaritan laws that remove liability from the state and the individuals who provide food to others in manners such as this.
A reasonable accommodation for both sides could be that the food service could be held not directly in front of store fronts, such as those next to a park, vacant lot, or area such as this and perhaps a rotating location every week. I see this as being worth consideration for both sides.
Cases such as in the example of this man are civil disobedience violations that are a badge of honor in my view to have on a criminal record.
Good article Larry.
We probably need to ask how easy or difficult is it to get food stamps in that area? Are groceries available in the area? How available is the nearest approved/inspected soup kitchen? How well are x-cons prepared for the world when they are let out of prison? Generally it seems that in the US social services provide food to whomever needs it. If not, we need to know why not because there is no scarcity of food in this country.
A couple days ago there was some fresh fruit on the ground at the edge of the local Wal-Mart parking lot where people usually stand with signs asking for help or donations. I imagine someone gave one of the homeless folks some fruit which they didn’t want and left there for someone else.
“Let’s set the record straight.
Contrary to reports, the City of Fort Lauderdale is not banning groups from feeding the homeless. We have established an outdoor food distribution ordinance to ensure the health, safety and welfare of our community. The ordinance does not prohibit feeding the homeless; it regulates the activity in order to ensure it is carried out in an appropriate, organized, clean and healthy manner.”
http://www.fortlauderdale.gov/news/2014/110514mayors_update.htm
“Backed by the Chamber of Commerce” is always a red flag for me.
When we hear reports that local governments routinely buy 1 way bus/train tickets for the homeless and/or mentally ill, so they can become another cities problem, then you know for certain that these governments are clueless and heartless incompetents.