According to Metropolitan Ministries, there are more than 25,000 homeless people living in the Tampa Bay area. And with jobs scarce and economic woes continuing, that number keeps growing.
As local governments grapple with their own ever-shrinking budgets, some are taking strong measures to put out no vacancy signs for their homeless populations. Panhandling bans, for example, are in effect in many Tampa Bay area communities, including Tampa and Pasco County.
While homeless shelters exist, many report they are operating at capacity. Metropolitan Ministries estimates more there are 1,500 beds for homeless in Hillsborough County. Even so, some 8,000 homeless go without shelter each night, the agency estimates.
In nearby Pinellas County, the problem has become daunting for some governments to handle. Trying to balance the rights of residents, the need for public safety and services for the homeless has led to what might be seen as a tipping point.
The city of Clearwater, for example, recently sealed off public restrooms in some parks, according to The Tampa Tribune. The measure was meant to entice homeless to move on to greener pastures. Even so, the city still faces a homeless problem.
Enter the latest proposal: a ban on sitting and laying down in some public places.
Although not yet set in stone, the ban proposal has raised some eyebrows.
Pasco and Pinellas county public defender Bob Dillinger is against the idea.
"Arresting the homeless is the most expensive way to address the problem and the least effective," the Tribune quoted him as saying.
In Sarasota, the City Commission decided in 2011 to remove benches at Five Points Park to discourage homeless sleeping in the park, and Residents at a commission meeting this week expressed concern about the problem shifting where folks are now lying down, sleeping and some even say camping outside of across the street from the park.
What do you think? Too much government intrusion or a good solution to a growing problem that other communities should follow? How would you address the homeless problem throughout the Bay area? Let us know in the comments section below.
That is maliciously absurd, and just as absurd as someone who might say "Many Roman Catholic Priests are pedophiles." No, some Priests are pedophiles, and some panhandlers are drug users. Stop the hyperventilation and distortion, and if you are going to call President Obama a "socialist" then you obviously don't even know what a socialist is, or what they advocate. Mr Obama is slightly to the left of center, in the same way that former GOP Senator Chuck Hagel was and current GOP Senator Dick Lugar is slightly to the right of center. Mr Obama is even loathed by the extreme left of the Democratic Party, because he is far too reasonable for their ideology. One problem with views such as you have expressed is that extremists in our country, whether extremists on the right or extremists on the left, love to do name-calling of anyone outside their belief structure, so that true centrists become characterized as "liberals" to the extreme right, and they become characterized as "conservatives" to the extreme left.
Back to the subject...... YES - YES - YES.... Many panhandlers are drug users looking for more drug money.
They BUMS are useless they do not want to be useful they are freeloaders let them go be BUMS in another place. My city should not be mobbed with the garbage that only wants other peoples money because they do not want to work for it themselves. When offred jobs these BUMS always refuse or do not show up NOT ONE wants to work. all you bleeding hearts let em live in your garage you want to help.............oh you don't want to help that much huh? only want to give them our money. forget that crap move em down the road. you whiny social activists can go with them.
So to Quentin, Thank you I yield the remainder of my time in this debate to Quentin. I love it when people do my work for me. I guess I am a socialist! I highly recommend it...
Gods! Suck it up folks and lets take back our communities and help each other without crying to the state or feds to bail us out! Do all of us really think we aren't competent of taking care of our problems locally? If so we are all truly doomed.
Did you see the one by NCI ESS (REALLY FUNNY TAG) about "So you see a psychiatrist." I was holding my sides laughing at that one...