TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Homeless In St. Pete Add Voices To Republican Debate

Paul Wilkinson of St Petersburg cuts the collar off of his shirt while protesting at First Street South and Fourth Avenue South today. Wilkinson is homeless. JULIE BUSCH / Tampa Tribune

ADVERTISEMENT

By KEITH MORELLI | The Tampa Tribune

Published: November 27, 2007

Photo Gallery

ST. PETERSBURG - A card table was set up at First Street South and Fourth Avenue North, and a group of homeless and their advocates grabbed doughnuts from a dozen or so boxes on top. Next to the table sat Paul Wilkinson, 64, a former construction worker who lost his leg in a Miami shooting several years ago, the beginning of hard times leading to homelessness.

Wilkinson came to the corner from his shelter at the St. Vincent de Paul Society to join the protest this morning.

"I just came here this morning to help in any way I can," he said as he cut the collar off a shirt for no reason other than "I like an open collar."

He joined about 25 others this morning, a bedraggled-looking group with determination in their eyes and words. They wanted to be as visible as possible when the city hosts a Republican presidential debate Wednesday night at Mahaffey Theater. The theater sits across the street, behind a temporary metal barricade set up to keep out everyone without the proper credentials.

For the homeless, the presence of a national media is a way to be seen and maybe heard. They are protesting, they say, the way they have been treated by the city fathers, said Eric Rubin an advocate who is organizing the protest. He said more than half of the 70 people who slept on the sidewalks in front of the posh Hilton Hotel, the trendy Starbucks coffee shop and expensive-looking Spa Olimpia were homeless; the rest being sympathizers there for the protest.

"We're not here for a confrontation," he said, "or to get arrested."

Until Monday night, there appeared to be a confrontation brewing between the city and the homeless, but any stand was averted peacefully when the protesters agreed to set up their camp across the street.

"There haven't been any problems," said St. Petersburg police Sgt. Tim Montanari, who was there this morning to remind protesters they cannot block the entrances to the businesses or the crosswalks.

The protesters late Monday reached a partial compromise with St. Petersburg officials when they abandoned their campsite in front of the Mahaffey Theater for a plot across the street, but they still have four demands:

·Assurances by the city that the creation of a city-sanctioned shelter called Pinellas Hope will not be used to prosecute homeless people who choose to live on the street. Currently, a city ordinance says sleeping on the street is illegal if there are spaces available in shelters.

·Any new shelter established be co-governed by the homeless.

·Pinellas Hope be available only to homeless individuals without children.

·Pinellas Hope officials not do criminal background checks on people who choose to live there.

Dozens of homeless people showed up outside the theater over the weekend as a protest that could be seen by presidential hopefuls who are filtering into the area. The debate, sponsored by CNN and YouTube, will draw national attention, and the homeless advocates want to use that attention to highlight their plight.

Pinellas Hope, a temporary five-month refuge set to open Saturday on 126th Avenue North near 49th Street is a 10-acre campsite created by Catholic Charities and the Diocese of St. Petersburg before winter, when the area's homeless population swells. Organizers hope to be able to help about 250 homeless people with shelter over the next four to five months.

St. Petersburg has more than 2,500 homeless residents, Rubin said.

"Our problem and our fear is that the city criminalizes the homeless," he said.

Bryan Marlin, 20, sat on a blanket early this morning. He was being warned that he had better move or get wet.

"They're going to test the sprinklers in 45 minutes," he was told by an organizer.

As he began packing up, Marlin said, "Dogs and other animals walk on the sidewalk. People should not be sleeping here."

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT