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Effort to feed homeless halted
By KATHRYN WEXLER © St. Petersburg Times, published January 19, 2001 TAMPA -- For 2 1/2 years, Jim Hobby has hauled card tables, folding chairs and thermal containers of piping-hot food to a dirt lot at Adamo Drive and 19th Street.
On Sunday, a Tampa police officer pulled up beside Hobby's open-air, makeshift dining room and told him to move along, said Hobby, standing empty-handed Thursday beneath the overpass as a dozen hungry men looked on. Hobby, 65, thinks police want to rid the city of homeless people before out-of-town Super Bowl fans arrive. "Who do they think they're fooling when they try to hide their crazy aunt in the back room?" Hobby asked. "None of the high rollers are stupid enough to think Tampa doesn't have a homeless problem." Police spokesman Joe Durkin said the coming game had nothing to do with it. "It's not in relation to the Super Bowl," Durkin said. "They have to have a permit." Several months ago, Hobby said, police asked him whether his homespun outreach program, called Footsoldiers Ministries, had a permit to serve food. Hobby said he contacted City Hall and was directed to Cynthia Miller, who oversees audits and intergovernmental relations. Permits weren't explored, Miller said. Instead, acting on the mayor's behalf, her goal was to show support for Hobby's efforts, she said. "The meeting was about, let's just try to work together and not cause any hardship for folks who need help," Miller said. Thursday, she said she was unaware of Sunday's confrontation. Hobby said he'll go quietly. A lay minister with a mobile home in Valrico and a full-time job selling industrial coatings and insulation, Hobby said he doesn't want trouble. "I did call the mayor's office but didn't make a connection," he said. "I just decided not to fight it. Whether it's wrong or right, I'm just not in the mood to get in the middle of it. They could arrest us and impound our trailer or whatever." A count of homeless people several years ago in Hillsborough turned up 3,600, and advocates for the homeless say the number has grown. Hobby chose the dirt lot in Ybor City because it is far enough from businesses and homes that he wouldn't be disturbing anyone. He served one daily meal Thursday through Sunday morning, and up to 140 people would partake, he said. Much of the food was donated by small restaurants or prepared by volunteers. Hobby said he pays four or five men a few dollars to clean up the lot after each meal. "We leave it cleaner than we found it," he said. Hobby said he'll look for another place to feed the homeless, probably beyond the city limits. Thursday night, he came with bad news instead of food. Many of the men said they hadn't eaten since noon and wouldn't have dinner without Hobby's meatloaf and mashed potatoes. Some said they'd been turned down for work by the daily labor pools for the past few days. "I've got 19 cents," said Richard Holcomb, 54. Several said Thursday night that they think the city wants them to disappear during the Super Bowl, and this is one more way to get them to go elsewhere. "They're just trying to move everybody off," said Ricky Brown, 49. As night fell and Hobby turned to leave on his red motorcycle, he looked around at the small group that stood silently facing him. "I don't know what we're going to do," he said. "It just shouldn't happen, I guess." - Kathryn Wexler can be reached at (813) 226-3383 or wexler@sptimes.com.
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