Florida homelessness crisis in the spotlight in 2024

By Tom Tracy - Florida Catholic

MIAMI | As hotspots around the U.S. look for new ways to deal with a growing homelessness crisis, Florida’s state lawmakers have passed legislation that would see homeless people forcibly removed from public parks and sidewalks.

House Bill 1365: “Unauthorized Public Camping and Public Sleeping,” gives local governments authority to designate public land away from neighborhoods and businesses for “public camping or sleeping.”

The bill stipulates that security, sanitation and behavioral health services would have to be made available. The plan has drawn both criticism and provisional support from homeless advocates around Florida. The heightened urgency of dealing with the homelessness crisis in Miami, and Florida in general, has been exacerbated by a confluence of economic and societal issues that have only increased following the coronavirus pandemic.

“I think what we are seeing here is the rising costs of inflation and cost of living in Miami — we have a tremendous challenge on our hands right now, and this is not a problem you can kick down the road,” said Peter Routsis-Arroyo, executive director of Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Miami. “Something that has to be done right now.”

During the pandemic, he said, there was a moratorium on landlords increasing rents or enforcing evictions, but “what we are seeing are hard-working families being priced out of the area,” Routsis-Arroyo added.

 

Providing a New Life

While he doesn’t think the urban homelessness crisis in Miami is as severe as in some other cities, Routsis-Arroyo cautioned it could be headed in that direction. But he hopes the crisis can be met with a more localized, humane approach without criminalizing homelessness in public spaces in Florida.

“I would like to continue to provide safe and clean housing for those who cannot afford it so that they can remain with their dignity,” he said, adding that in the Miami neighborhood of Wynwood, New Life Family Center, a Catholic Charities program, has recently reopened after a brief closure and funding gap.

New Life sits in a kind of ground zero within the affordable housing crisis in South Florida. It is charged with helping homeless families through the process of what is known in the industry as “rapid rehousing” — providing temporary short-term accommodations, and later rental assistance, to people who become homeless due to a crisis but are considered capable of becoming self-sufficient again.

New Life has 13 small efficiency rooms that can accommodate a total of 60 residents. Staff are daily fielding phone calls from a consistent trickle of needy families seeking a temporary stay with referrals often coming through the Miami-Dade County Homeless Trust.

More housing on the horizon

To continue to fill the need, Catholic Charities is moving toward a ribbon-cutting ceremony for a nearby workforce affordable housing facility featuring 30 units for working individuals with families in need of shelter.

“It took six or seven years for all of this to happen and it is now all coming to fruition," Routsis-Arroyo said. “We were one of the first agencies to be rewarded $5 million for five years from the Bezos Day One Fund.”

This fund was launched with a commitment of $2 billion and focuses on funding existing non-profits that help homeless families, as well as creating a network of new, non-profit tier-one preschools in low-income communities.

Miami Catholic Charities is also moving forward on the construction of 10 new housing units for the disabled in the Monroe County/Key West area, according to Routsis-Arroyo.

At New Life Family Center in downtown Miami, Evelyn Soto, director, and Jackie Carrion, senior director of community-based services for Catholic Charities, say their focus is getting families into housing of their own within six months of their stay at New Life.

They collect names and locations of local housing resources that might be suitable for New Life clients. A staff family enrichment specialist then starts working on forming partnerships — special agreements between Catholic Charities, a landlord and the New Life client who needs help getting into a rental agreement.

On a recent weekday in February, New Life reported that 21 individuals from some six or more families with children under the age of 18 were living on site after finding their way here on their own or through local referrals.

 

Services beyond housing 

Two of the families were living on the street until very recently. All of the clients have access to meals, financial literacy, case management, art therapy and parenting classes.

“The case management component to this program is very robust to ensure that we provide services to the family as a whole so once the families come here, there is a thorough assessment to determine needs for the children and adults ... to help get them to be self-sufficient,” said Carrion.

Currently, even a modest studio apartment rental in the area can start at $1,300 a month or more, according to New Life staff. Many of the residents do not arrive by car and opt to get around on bicycle and on foot.

“It's very expensive out there and it has only gotten worse,” Carrion said, adding that construction jobs and food delivery services have proven to be a popular source of low-skill employment for the New Life residents at a time when it's clear that homelessness is on the uptick.

“Uber Eats food delivery and takeout has been a wonderful way for our families to earn income,” Carrion added. “This area in general has so many offices and buildings going up all around us so I would think the food delivery business is doing very well.”

In terms of immigrant families coming to the area, New Life staff see that often immigrants had initial sponsorship support from families but many have ended up on the street after a miscommunication or breakdown in the relationship.

In many cases, Catholic Charities has assisted newly arrived immigrants with hotel stays for up to 30 days.

Meanwhile, apartment rental rates and daily living cost increases, along with stagnant or poor income, provide a continuous challenge to families, including those who are receiving various forms of public assistance.

Karelyn and Javier, a recently arrived mother and son from Venezuela who reside at New Life, told the Florida Catholic that they are looking to create a new future in Florida with the help of Catholic Charities. Karelyn’s husband works in a local warehouse and mattress factory.

“We stayed a few days in a hotel before we came here and after that period was exhausted, we didn’t have anywhere to go,” Karelyn said. “We want to work and that my son studies and accomplishes his dream to be a baseball player. We don't have to leave Miami.”