Florida Homeless Success Lesson: Don't 'Force It Down People's Throats'

Chad Blair/Civil Beat

Another sunny city that bans personal belongings on sidewalks and in parks has found success because it provides 200 storage bins to its homeless to help them find a safe place for their stuff.

That's a key difference between what Honolulu is proposing and what's taking place in St. Petersburg, Florida. The person in charge of that Florida program has some advice for how similar efforts can help Hawaii's homeless problem.

"If you look at the whole picture, it makes it a whole lot more palatable," St. Petersburg Manager of Veteran, Social and Homeless Services Rhonda Abbott told Civil Beat Tuesday. "I think (it would be better) if they look at it holistically instead of just trying to force it down people's throats."

Abbott attributed St. Petersburg's success to a public outreach campaign as well as a contract with a local shelter and food kitchen that gives the city's homeless a secure place to store their belongings.

"The education piece was huge as well as giving them the option of a place where they don't have to worry about it getting stolen or lost or wet," she said. "When you take people's stuff, that's very intimidating, that's very invasive. But if you give them the option ... if you approach it that way, then it's a win-win situation. That would be my advice."

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