A new state law on homelessness came into effect at the beginning of this month, prohibiting individuals from camping on public streets, sidewalks and parks. Instead, local governments must place them in temporary shelters monitored by law enforcement agencies. 

The new law, HB 1365, prohibits counties and municipalities from allowing public camping or sleeping on public property that the Department of Children and Families (DCF) has not designated for such use. 

Prohibited public camping does not include overnight stays in a registered, legally parked motor vehicle, or recreational camping on property designated for that purpose. 

“Florida will not allow homeless encampments to intrude on its citizens or undermine their quality of life like we see in states like New York and California,” Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis said in a press release after signing the bill in March. “The legislation I signed today upholds our commitment to law and order while also ensuring homeless individuals have the resources they need to get back on their feet.” 

If there are not enough open beds in homeless shelters within the county, officials may designate part of county property, or property owned by a municipality within its boundaries, to be used for up to a year as a public camping site. If the site is within a municipality, the municipality’s governing body must agree to the designation. 

DCF must approve any such designated site, with stipulations on its location and a plan to meet the following minimum standards and procedures: 

• Ensure the safety and security of the designated property and the people staying there 

• Maintain sanitation, including at least access to clean, operable restrooms and running water 

• Coordinate with the regional managing entity to provide access to behavioral health services, which must include substance abuse and mental health treatment resources 

• Enforce prohibition of the use of illegal substance and alcohol on the property 

Fiscally constrained counties are exempt from the minimum standards and procedures if their governing boards find that compliance would cause financial hardship, and the law does not apply during a state of emergency. While Alachua County is not considered fiscally restrained, many nearby counties are, including Levy, Gilchrist, Dixie, Suwannee, Columbia, Union, Bradford and Putnam counties.  

Alachua County spokesperson Mark Sexton told Mainstreet the new law does not require designation of an encampment, and the county has no plans to do so. Last week, the Board of County Commissioners voted to raise the county’s contribution to GRACE Marketplace, which serves people experiencing homelessness. 

Last year, the county stepped in to fund GRACE’s outreach program, filling a gap left by the city of Gainesville. This year, Gainesville has upped its contribution to $2.05 million, but the county wanted to continue funding homeless outreach, hoping to expand outside Gainesville city limits. 

The vote, following a study by the National Alliance to End Homelessness, sets aside $350,000 for homeless outreach in Alachua County. 

Gainesville Mayor Harvey Ward said the city is still considering its response to the bill. He said the city is trying to balance the rights of the people in public encampments, as well as those of the people living in homes and trying to run businesses. 

Ward said it is important to have a long-term perspective on Gainesville’s reduction of homelessness, and that it is better now than it was 10 years ago. He said he does not expect the new law to change much about how Gainesville addresses homelessness, through street outreach teams, GRACE Marketplace, the Community Resource Paramedicine Program and the University of Florida’s Mobile Outreach Clinic. 

“It’s heartening to know that we are making progress, but it’s important to kind of keep that longer term perspective,” Ward said. “I’m interested to know how [other communities are] impacted and what changes they’ll make over the course of the next few months.” 

The Republican legislation passed mostly along party lines, but state Rep. Yvonne Hayes Hinson, D-Gainesville, was the exception and voted in favor of the bill, after opposing it through committee. 

Hinson told Mainstreet in March that her vote was rooted in Gainesville’s experiences with homelessness and her experience sitting on the City Commission when it bought GRACE Marketplace. She said she hopes new encampments, with state involvement, will not have the same violence and management problems that led to the end of Dignity Village. 

“I’m hoping with the Department of Children and Families that we can pursue a different technique,” Hinson said. “They are going to force good sanitation out there and lighting, and I think they’re going to enforce security.”   

Starting Jan. 1, the new law will permit a resident of the county, an owner of a business located in the county, or the attorney general to bring civil action against a county or municipality that violates the law. 

Critics of the law said it is an unfunded mandate that would cost local governments millions of dollars.  

Homeless individuals looking for shelter may end up in parking lots and alleyways around businesses, creating tension as business owners try to keep their property “clean, safe, and profitable,” according to a Loss Prevention Magazine report in 2022. 

Deborah Butler, president of Butler Enterprises, expressed frustrations with Gainesville’s handling of homelessness in an interview last year. She said homeless individuals frequent Butler Plaza, and that she has had to pay thousands of dollars to clean up encampment areas on Butler property and hire private security. 

“You’re a target, unfortunately, in this town if you’re a business owner,” Butler said. “That’s what it’s become because of bad city policies and bad government. They mean well, but they have created a mess for us.” 

Butler said many of the people arrested on the property do not come from Gainesville, which she believes is because they are attracted to the city’s homeless policies. 

Gainesville’s GRACE Marketplace is a low-barrier homeless shelter, which does not require IDs, clean backgrounds, income or sobriety to seek shelter. Participation in supportive services is encouraged, but not required. 

“There’s no requirements other than ‘homeless and breathing,’” GRACE Marketplace CEO Jon DeCarmine said in an interview last year. “We pride ourselves on keeping our services as simple as possible for people to access when they’re in crisis.” 

Based on point in time data from a single night last January, the Florida Council on Homelessness counted 639 sheltered and unsheltered homeless individuals in Alachua County. The count has fluctuated annually for the last five years, from a low of 521 in the 2021 count, to a high of 931 in 2023. 

In the same annual report, the Council on Homelessness included a “Spotlight on Best Practices in Alachua County” section, highlighting the county’s commitment to a housing first approach and increased funding for services such as Rapid Rehousing and Permanent Supportive Housing (PSH). The report said more than 60 people have found stability through Alachua County’s PSH program since it launched in 2020. 

“Despite initial setbacks, such as relapses, many individuals find support and encouragement from case managers, with nearly 90% staying housed after six months,” the report said. 

—with reporting from Seth Johnson