JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Two bills focused on addressing homelessness in Jacksonville that are part of a $10 million portion of Mayor Donna Deegan’s $1.92 billion budget proposal are headed toward public hearings at next Tuesday’s City Council meeting.
One bill would give the Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department $2.5 million to create a seven-member “homeless persons EMS response team” and the other makes changes to two ordinances, including using the bathroom in public.
The bills, which would help bring Jacksonville into compliance with a new state law banning sleeping in public spaces, are being read in committees ahead of their scheduled public hearing on Sept. 10 at the City Council meeting.
“It has always been illegal for someone to camp on private property. That is trespassing. It makes it illegal for people to camp on public property,” said Dawn Gilman, the CEO of Changing Homelessness, an organization that helps unhoused people find a place to go.
The state law making it illegal to sleep or camp in public spaces, unless designated by a city, goes into effect Oct. 1, but Gilman said she is concerned that there are still not enough places for unhoused people to go.
“At this time, we have between 500 and 600 emergency shelter beds, and we have somewhere between 2,100 and 2,200 folks experiencing homelessness,” Gilman said.
Of the $2.5 million in the JFRD proposal, $1 million would be used for salaries and benefits for two lieutenants, one fire captain and four engineers. The remaining $1.5 million would provide services to people who are unhoused.
“One team is enforcing, one team is outreach and engagement, and I think that will make it easier for folks that are experiencing homelessness to engage with Jacksonville Fire Rescue and get connected to the services they need,” said Gilman.
Mayor Donna Deegan’s office provided this statement to News4JAX:
“JFRD currently interacts with the homeless population more than any other City of Jacksonville department during responses to 911 emergency medical calls. This experience makes JFRD the perfect partner to compassionately assist this vulnerable population with securing temporary housing, access to mental health and substance abuse programs, and referring community partners to support the homeless with long-term assistance programs.”
The changes being considered in the second bill include making it unlawful for any person to use the bathroom on any street, sidewalk, alleyway, park, beach, public building, or in any place open to the public.
The proposal would also make public camping or sleeping on or in any public property or public building unlawful unless designated by the city.
“If passed, the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office would have enforcement responsibilities whether the suspect were homeless or not,” the Sheriff’s Office said in a statement. “Their status of being housed or unhoused would not affect our ability to make an arrest for a violation of the MO.”
If the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office makes an arrest for any of these issues, items belonging to the person will be held for 35 days or for five days after the person is released from jail — whichever period is shorter.
Both of the bills are scheduled for public hearing at city hall on Sept. 10.
After that, they will go back to their assigned committees to be taken up for possible action before returning to the full City Council for a final action.