APOPKA, Fla. — Apopka’s City Council chambers were relatively full Wednesday night as advocates turned up to protest the treatment of the homeless throughout the city.
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The attendees, many who worked for churches and nonprofits, said their clients reported harsher treatment by police and city workers in recent weeks, including being threatened with arrests for being in places like public parks.
Activists have long claimed that cities and counties have attempted to drive homeless individuals to neighboring communities. Some have bus ticket programs that pay for travel to somewhere – anywhere – as long as the person boarded the vehicle.
“We can’t arrest our way out of homelessness, though we’ve tried to do that,” Pastor Scott Billue, of Matthew’s Hope, said. “An old tactic that seems to be a new tactic is we’ll just keep trespassing everybody.”
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A woman who called herself Debbie Smith – which she said wasn’t her real name – said she had lived on the streets of Apopka for some time, usually in her preferred spot on a bench near Apopka Station. She said she hadn’t personally been harassed by officers, but had heard stories from her friends.
“They cannot do that,” she said, of the trespassing threats. “That’s a violation of civil rights law.”
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Smith, who said she regularly earns money by working odd jobs, was more than willing to describe the lack of services for people like her in Apopka. No safe places to bathe, get out of the hot summer temperatures or meet with nonprofit workers to put her life back together. She said the lack of affordable housing was the big thing keeping her outside.
“People are on their own to find a way to get off the streets,” she said.
After Wednesday’s meeting, Mayor Bryan Nelson took time to rebut some of the claims the advocates had made. He said the city had not changed any policies toward the homeless and wasn’t targeting them. He also said the city had partnered with an organization to work through the issue – one he sat on the board of, different than the ones represented in the protest.
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Nelson said Apopka was making plans for a services center to help residents living on the streets, and had several housing projects in the works to expand the city’s inventory “to get people (who) just need that hand up ... or to get to that better situation.”
However, Billue said he wanted the mayor to at least listen to what the other organizations were saying.
“Time to quit talking and let’s talk about what can be done,” he said.
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Smith, who said she plans to be off the streets by January, echoed his sentiment.
“At some point, one of his family members, extended family, immediate family… might themselves become homeless,” she warned. “You’re not going to want them to be treated the way that you’re treating the population experiencing homelessness here in Apopka.”
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