Hardened hearts in Tampa

Here is a little reminder for the fine folks in Tampa, especially the city council.

“If there is a poor man with you, one of your brothers, in any of your towns in your land which the LORD your God is giving you, you shall not harden your heart, nor close your hand from your poor brother; but you shall freely open your hand to him, and shall generously lend him sufficient for his need in whatever he lacks. “Beware that there is no base thought in your heart, saying, ‘The seventh year, the year of remission, is near,’ and your eye is hostile toward your poor brother, and you give him nothing; then he may cry to the LORD against you, and it will be a sin in you. “You shall generously give to him, and your heart shall not be grieved when you give to him, because for this thing the LORD your God will bless you in all your work and in all your undertakings. “For the poor will never cease to be in the land; therefore I command you, saying, ‘You shall freely open your hand to your brother, to your needy and poor in your land.’ 

-- Deuteronomy 15:7-11

Such a reminder is necessary given the decision to criminalize the homeless. The new city ordinance makes it illegal to sleep on the streets or store personal possessions in public places. The ordinance was created and supported by people that knew that the resources to house the homeless are woefully inadequate.

The city has no plans to create temporary or transitional housing. Council members also acknowledged that Tampa's shelters are already full on a nightly basis, with up to 100 people on a waiting list to get a bed. The ordinance's supporters responded that the law will not be enforced if there are no shelters available, and that another option is to take the homeless to a shelter outside of city limits. A police officer stated that "the city will provide resources" to a homeless person taken to a shelter outside of the city to get back the next day if the person requires city services, but no plans have been put in place.

The idea that the police will be able to determine if shelters are full before arresting someone is ridiculous. If arrested for sleeping on the streets, the burden will fall to the homeless person to prove the shelters were full and the ordinance should not have been enforced on the night they were arrested.

Not only are the number of beds available in Tampa's shelters inadequate to house the homeless population in the area, some shelters even go so far as to charge to stay in them.

"Most shelters in the Tampa Bay area charge $10 to $42 per night for a single person. They aren't free," Tasha Rennels told Bay News 9. "18 out of 25 shelters cater to a specific need such as domestic violence or mental illness, and those are important, but there aren't shelters available for people who can't afford housing. Lack of affordable housing is the biggest problem."

If you cannot find or afford to pay for a bed in a shelter, you can be arrested and forced to pay fines, court costs, and other penalties. Tampa offers a hand closed in a fist to the needy and poor.