‘Don’t need anybody’s rules’: Homeless man in St. Lucie County reacts to new law banning encampments
By Angela Rozier
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ST. LUCIE COUNTY, Florida (WPBF) — One day after Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bill into law restricting homeless encampments, officials on the Treasure Coast are putting a plan into place to tackle the homeless issue.
The new legislation restricts homeless people from having encampments in public places.
Under the law, homeless folks at the shelters will not be allowed to use drugs, and substance abuse and mental health treatments will be available to those who need them.
Pat Morahan has been homeless for 25 years and doesn’t believe the ban is good for him.
“Because I’m not free if I’m stuck in a house, I’m not free,” Morahan said. “You can’t come and go as you please you got to do their rules. I’m 62 years old I don’t need anybody’s rules, so it is what it is.”
David Long is the executive director of Angela of Hope Outreach.
Long would like to see something different.
“I was even thinking myself of like buying some lots and getting them fenced in and let the guys who want to stay in the woods put like little camp sites in,” Long said. “Then have a community garden in there and let them self-manage it.”
Officials in St. Lucie County are reaching out to the cities of Fort Pierce and Port St. Lucie, as well as nonprofits, to come up with solutions.
“We want to have a comprehensive plan, not just a band-aid solution to the problem, but again, that’s why we’re trying to reach out to the two cities and the nonprofits,” Erick Gill, communications division director for the St. Lucie County Board of Commissioners said. “The more heads we have addressing this issue, the better solution we’ll come up with.”
Gill said they hope to present solutions to the board within the next three months.
The new law goes into effect Oct. 1.
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