Arresting activists who feed the homeless is not the way for the city of Tampa to address a growing problem downtown. The city has the right goal - to bring some organization to the many private efforts to help the homeless. But using trespassing laws to disperse these groups from public parks is a heavy-handed waste of police resources that hurts the very people the city says it wants to help. The city needs to broaden its strategy - expanding housing, coordinating public and private aid and improving access to medical and psychiatric care.
Tampa, like other cities, has used anti-nuisance and trespassing laws to break up large pockets of homeless people. While these sweeps might make the problem less visible, they complicate the job of delivering food and services to a transient population. Tampa police arrested three activists Sunday. Each was charged with trespassing. The city says the activists need to obtain a permit and liability insurance to feed the homeless in a public park.
Public safety, of course, is an important consideration that should factor into any homeless initiative. Having a large number of homeless downtown raises safety and public health concerns, from public drunkenness, jaywalking and sanitation to the security of those with no place to live. More homeless people are panhandling stopped traffic in Hyde Park and throughout downtown. But the security problem is nowhere near the point that police need to be staking out parks and hauling well-intentioned people to jail.
Tampa Mayor Pam Iorio called last month for a countywide task force to examine the problem. While an accurate count is almost impossible, officials estimate that 7,000 people are homeless in Hillsborough County. Previous efforts to make homeless services a community priority have had little success.
Iorio's task force at least could provide a fuller picture of the local problem. The county commission should join the effort, and any plan for addressing homelessness should include specific funding commitments. Downtown boosters and neighborhood groups should team with the social services agencies and unite behind a worthy goal. Tampa won't end homelessness, but it might provide a helping hand to some families, turn around one negative image of downtown and change in some small way the worst instincts of our throwaway culture.
