(NewsNation) — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bill Wednesday that requires local municipalities to ban homeless people from setting up camps or sleeping in public places.
Counties would be able to create areas for homeless people to camp for a year if they get approval from the state’s Department of Children and Families under the newly signed law.
“This law will help maintain and ensure that Florida streets are clean, and Florida streets are safe for residents,” DeSantis said. “It’s important that we maintain the quality of life for the residents in the state of Florida.”
Opponents of the legislation, however, say it does not address the root causes of homelessness. Instead, many homeless advocates say, it is just a way for homeless people to be put out of public view and ignored.
“We are literally reshuffling the visibility of unhoused individuals with no exit strategy for people who are experiencing homelessness,” Democratic state Sen. Shevrin Jones has previously said.
Diana Stanley, CEO of the Lord’s Place, one of the largest homeless charities in Palm Beach County, called the bill a “Band-Aid approach.”
“Really, what it’s saying … is that we don’t want to see the homeless, and very clearly, if you don’t see them, you don’t have to take care of them,” Stanley said Wednesday on “NewsNation Live.”
In addition, critics say, the law doesn’t directly ensure sexual offenders and children won’t be living in close proximity to the government-designated encampments, nor does it guarantee they will be safe and sanitary.
While the bill states counties must “ensure the safety and security” of properties used for camps, it does not outline exactly what that means. When it comes to maintaining sanitation, all that is required by the bill is “at minimum” access to “clean and operable restrooms and running water.”
Republican state Sen. Jonathan Martin, the bill’s sponsor, said the current model of dealing with homelessness is not working. This legislation, he said, puts together a framework to help government agencies and nonprofits work together.
“This bill is cutting edge,” Martin said Wednesday at the bill signing. “Hopefully we’re going to make a real big difference in the lives of Floridians, and those who have mental health issues, those who are homeless for economic reasons, or those who are suffering from substance abuse as well.”
The Daytona Beach News-Journal reported, though, that outreach workers say homeless people they work with don’t trust the state agency tasked with overseeing the county encampments.
Megan Sarmento, an outreach program manager for the Florida Harm Reduction Collective in Tampa, told the newspaper that some people she works with have lost children or even been incarcerated because of the Department of Children and Families.
Stanley told NewsNation there are many uncertainties in the bill, and it’s hard to say how it will impact people five years from now.
What needs to happen, Stanley said, is for DeSantis and the Florida Legislature to earmark money to increase housing inventory across the state.
“Only then will we really see a difference in ending homelessness,” Stanley said.
The new law goes into effect Oct. 1.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
