Commissioners in the city of Miami have voted to move forward with a pilot program that aims to address the city’s homelessness crisis.
While the aim behind the program is well-intentioned, the backlash from the local community has been fierce. Community members along with homelessness advocacy groups have raised valid concerns regarding how the city plans to address homelessness in the area.
The proposed pilot program would allow roughly 100 tiny homes to be built on a nearby barrier island, Virginia Key. The development would be a dent in the crisis of the over 27,000 estimated homeless individuals throughout Florida.
The city has honed in on Virginia Key explaining that it is the best location to build these tiny homes. However, locals have pushed back, arguing that Virginia key is an area for local residents to use commercially and recreationally and serves as a summer camp for children. By establishing a substantially large development of tiny homes for homeless individuals, the sanctity of the area could be disrupted by the unique lifestyle homeless populations are often associated with.
Proponents against the proposed tiny home community also criticized the location because the proposed location is close to a nearby sewage plant. Some critics have gone as far as criticizing the plan as a way to tuck the homeless population out of the general public's eyesight by essentially rounding them up and sheltering them away from the heart of the community.
The city's commissioners who favor the pilot have called the program an opportunity to provide a “transition zone” for homeless individuals throughout the greater Miami area. They explained that the development would provide homeless individuals with basic necessities including shelter, food, access to proper hygiene including showers, and some basic medical services. Officials have also explained that the program would aim to connect homeless individuals with outreach services to further meet their needs.
Commissioner Manolo Reyes has pushed back against the criticism saying, “In my opinion, this is not an encampment that is going to be a concentration camp,” adding, “Nobody’s forcing anybody.”
Not all officials are on board, however. Commissioner Ken Russell voted against the proposed plan, calling it a “bad idea.” He stressed that regardless of the location where the proposed program would take place, the program doesn't offer a permanent solution to a growing problem throughout the community.
Additionally, commissioner Russell explains that relocating homeless individuals to environments miles away from necessities such as grocery stores and workplaces for homeless individuals wanting to secure a job does not do anything to help them in the long run. Commissioner Russell emphasizes that the proposed destination is “miles from anything” and that it only makes it more difficult for homeless individuals to receive the resources and support they need.
Many critics of the program agree with Commissioner Russell, with one of the major critiques being that pop-up tiny homes built at the forefront of hurricane-prone shores would not be the best use of funding for tackling homelessness.
A small business owner on Virginia Key echoed the sentiment. Esther Alonso owns an outdoor center on the Key and shared with local outlet WJLA that Virginia Key is not a practical environment for those who are the most vulnerable.
“This is a harsh environment. When it gets bad, when it gets really humid, or the heat is unbearable, or the mosquitoes are so thick, we can leave,” she explains. “If you’re living here, you can’t. This is it. And it’s a two-mile walk out through a mangrove forest, with a road in between.”
Alonso also emphasized her concern about having a homeless population so close to young children. She explained, “There are children here, this is a beach. And we’re going to bring a large population of primarily homeless men … and we’re going to put them next to a swimming beach where people are running around in swimsuits? I don’t know that’s a good mix.”
The city's Commissioners are set to meet again in September to figure out specific details about the pilot program and how it will play out in implementation.
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