The following opinion piece was authored by AHF Director of Legislative Affairs and Community Engagement Ebonni Chrispin for the U.S. media outlet South Florida SunSentinel.
Fort Lauderdale wants to criminalize poverty instead of seeing it as a state of emergency. It is cowardice not to address systemic issues in a direct and comprehensive way. Mayor Dean Trantalis has opted to threaten to use the police because the sight of poverty is more grave than the lived experience of homelessness. With more than 30,000 people experiencing housing insecurities in Florida, Fort Lauderdale has been a leader in affordable housing while also driving a stake into the soul of this great city by criminalizing the poor.
The so-called progressive mayor, in an effort to be tougher on homelessness, has taken a few notes from Gov. Ron DeSantis’ playbook and is attempting to punish indigent folks.
With the same talking points DeSantis uses, Trantalis has expressed his fear of Fort Lauderdale following “in the footsteps of San Francisco” in regards to the homelessness epidemic. Efforts from the mayor to rid the streets of those who have nowhere else to go come from a recent ruling by the Supreme Court which, in June, held that civil and criminal punishment for camping in public spaces does not violate the Eighth Amendment, which protects citizens from cruel and unusual punishment. That ruling, in turn, cleared the way for a new state law that bans sleeping in public, which goes into effect Oct. 1.
In a recent newsletter, the mayor proclaimed his support for increasing police personnel in homeless hotspots and leaving it to one person to manage their “multi-departmental efforts” strategy to contain homelessness. This was instead of advocating for affordable housing and rent control regulations which, effectively, could give unhoused people the ability to afford a place to live that isn’t on public property.
Instead of providing additional affordable and safe housing, the city and Trantalis’ solution is policing and punishment-based approaches. “A homeless person can be detained for up to 60 days, during which time they can receive mental health and substance abuse treatment, and just as importantly, they are off the streets, the beaches and alleys.” His “aggressive” approach does nothing but further push unhoused people through the revolving door that is the broken penal system. Policing doesn’t end homelessness. Safe, affordable and healthy housing does.
Greater Fort Lauderdale tourist expenditures in 1999 topped $3.85 billion, generating tourism tax collections of more than $15 million (up by 7.8% vs. 1998). In 2010, Broward saw $8.69 billion in visitor expenditures. And, as of 2018, approximately 14 million people a year visit Broward County and spend $11.4 billion in the local economy. The poor have not deterred anyone from visiting this fine city, so why is the mayor’s office so interested in using the police as a threat instead of, at the very least, using his position to turn over every stone to support other cities in building more low income, affordable and workforce housing?
An arrest or detention can create a domino effect that makes it even harder for individuals to find stable housing. A criminal record can disqualify someone from housing opportunities, create barriers to employment, and further entangle them in the criminal justice system.
Penalizing our most vulnerable citizens doesn’t solve the crisis — it exacerbates it. While I am over lame taglines like The Rent Is Too Damn High and Housing Not Handcuffs, they ring true. What is the role of those in a position to make change, if not to help those most impacted by the high cost of living? You do not have to solve all of society’s ills, but the mayor and the city commission do not have to make it even more difficult for poor people to live. While everyone understands the very complicated issue that is housing, and city-led programs like Community Court are kind gestures, advocates won’t be able to help the ever-growing numbers of homeless people if we arrest them for being poor.
If you won’t have a heart for the poor, mayor, have the courage to point to solutions — solutions already implemented in places like Dallas, Texas; Topeka, Kansas; Sacramento County, California; or even countries like Finland — that are available to us. Policing the poor is a choice that has long-term ramifications that do not stop homelessness.
