03-03-2025
Florida bill makes it harder to find homeless population during annual count, experts say
Rhoshanda Jones crawled through the brush on the outskirts of Vero Beach until she met the entrance to a homeless camp; the town of tarps was fitted with organized trash bins, a makeshift fence and a listless American flag.
After years in the field and her own experience being homeless, Jones could spot the cluster of blue tarps behind a thicket of woods while driving by at 40 mph.
'Hello, I'm with Treasure Coast Homeless Services Council. I have supplies,' Jones called. 'I've been there. I'm here to help.'
No one appeared to be home.
This was one of the challenges of conducting the annual point-in-time count, a single day when local housing-service providers set out to tally their communities' homeless population.
Dozens of people from the Homeless Services Council, United Way and other organizations embarked across the Treasure Coast in bright yellow "volunteer" shirts from noon to 8 p.m. Thursday. The count will be released April 17.
But this year was different; homeless camps and gathering spots seemed to be evacuated.
After the first camp, Jones and other outreach workers tried another off Oslo Road where they'd seen people gathering just days prior. They walked among the silhouettes of human habitation: crumpled tents, discarded cans and an old bicycle — but no life.
'This is really unusual,' Jones said. 'There are always people out here.'
When they got back in their car, Jones got a phone call from another outreach worker and she put it on speaker: Indian River County sheriff's deputies told them they were 'moving people along.'
This was the first point-in-time count after Florida enacted a law that bans sleeping on public property.
House Bill 1365, titled Unauthorized Public Camping and Public Sleeping, ramps up pressure on local governments to get people off the streets, even if their shelters are full. One provision allows residents, business owners and the state to sue local governments if they see people sleeping outside.
The law has led to more encounters with law enforcement, homeless people and their advocates told TCPalm.
Matthew Craig, 51, waited at a bus stop off Oslo Road headed toward Lakewood Park. Craig, who is disabled and has been homeless for 10 years, said he's afraid to stop to rest anymore. Even though Craig has aching feet and suffered fourth-stage renal failure, he still feels the need to climb a fence or hide in the woods every time he has to sit.
'The governor is always hard on us,' Craig said. 'I feel like we don't have a voice.'
Sheriff's spokesperson Capt. Joseph Abollo said there have been no changes to the agency's interactions with homeless people.
But even the fear of arrest can cause more people to hide or 'double up' with friends, said Rayme Knuckles, the Homeless Services Council's visionary leader.
'The bill is really impacting the count this year. We've obviously seen a decrease,' Knuckles said. 'In Martin and Indian River counties, we anticipate our count will be underrepresented due to increased law enforcement activity, likely linked to the bill.'
The Homeless Services Council reported similar encounters with Martin County sheriff's deputies: Volunteers told Knuckles homeless people were being told to clear the streets in Martin County too.
Suspicion of law enforcement has made people harder to find, said Gail Harvey, president of Tent City Helpers.
'The police are trespassing people left and right,' Harvey said. 'They're putting more pressure on people to go somewhere when they have nowhere to go.'
Sheriff's deputies assist with the count, but usually as security.
The Sheriff's Office has not changed its operations regarding its interactions with homeless people, said Sgt. Joseph Angelico, supervisor of the Community Policing Unit.
When deputies tell homeless people to leave a public area, it's usually because a resident complained, Angelico said. Because sleeping on public property is illegal and can now expose the county to lawsuits, deputies are obligated to ask them to leave.
'It's not just, 'Hey you can't be here, get lost,' " he said. "It's not a crime to be homeless.'
Instead, Angelico and his team try to connect people with resources or bus tickets to be with family, he said.
Angelico said he noticed fewer people were counted this year than last. One reason is more people are living in their cars, he said.
"I don't think the point-in-time count illustrates there's a decline because we didn't find so many people," he said. "I think they're hiding and afraid, or they're in cars."
As with most counties, people living in homeless camps are often told to leave, only to return to the same bridge underside or patch of forest.
That was the case for Marielena Diles, 43, who first became homeless in September 2023 and has gone back and forth between two camps in northern Fort Pierce. Diles has epilepsy and said people often take advantage of her when she has seizures.
'I don't have a phone, because when I'm having a seizure, people take my stuff,' she said.
Her condition makes her wary about where she lays her head, especially in light of the change in law.
The Department of Housing and Urban Development uses point-in-time count data to determine how much aid a community needs to house people.
The results of the count are presented to Congress to inform decisions about homelessness funding, policy and research.
Similar to a census, the point-in-time count assesses a community's needs and level of federal support. But the count is more limited and comes with unique challenges. For example, the definition of 'homeless' is nuanced, and it's often challenging to find people who might not want to be found.
Only people living in places 'not meant for human habitation' are considered homeless, such as those sleeping in cars, parks, abandoned buildings or on the street. Someone staying in a hotel or on a friend's couch, however, is considered housed and cannot be counted.
Handling homelessness: Three approaches to enforcing the anti-public sleeping bill
Last year's count: Latest count of homeless people on the Treasure Coast could be an undercount, critic says
'This is the problem with doing the count on one day: Numbers could vary, people move,' Knuckles said.
Communities usually have to conduct their count on one of the last 10 days of January. But due to Florida's back-to-back hurricanes in October, many communities were given a reprieve to do it in February.
The 2024 count showed homelessness decreased on the Treasure Coast, as compared to elsewhere in the state and nation.
The Treasure Coast recorded fewer homeless people compared to 2023, from 925 to 700 — with about 300 in St. Lucie County and 200 each in Martin and Indian River counties.
However, homelessness increased by 11% in the U.S. and 19% in Florida in 2023, according to state data and the Annual Homelessness Assessment Report. Florida's rate increased by another 2% in 2024.
Jack Lemnus is a TCPalm enterprise reporter. Contact him at 772-409-1345, or follow him on X @JackLemnus.
This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Treasure Coast Homeless Services Council conducts point-in-time count
