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Sanctioned Tent City To Serve Pinellas' Homeless

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By CARLOS MONCADA | The Tampa Tribune

Published: October 31, 2007

ST. PETERSBURG - Video images of police wielding box cutters, slicing and discarding homeless people's tents deemed a fire and public safety threat, cast a national spotlight on St. Petersburg's treatment of some of its neediest residents.

Now, a tent city preparing to open on Dec. 1 is aimed at avoiding a possible repeat of the widely publicized tent-slashing incident in January.

Catholic Charities, at the request of the Roman Catholic Diocese of St. Petersburg, is heading an effort to transform 10 vacant acres in mid-Pinellas County into a temporary home for up to 250 street people, primarily from St. Petersburg, where most of the county's estimated 5,000 homeless are concentrated.

The project comes in preparation for winter and the annual migration of homeless people from colder places in the country.

"It showed us that we had to get prepared in advance this year and not just let this happen to us,'' Catholic Charities President Frank Murphy said of the tent raid. "We said, 'Let's try to approach this in a more proactive way and look for a place where we can have these people be safely and securely,' '' Murphy said. "So, yes, having lived through that last year, we sort of said we need to do something this year.''

That something is "Pinellas Hope,'' an unusual social experiment that has the blessing of city and county leaders.

For four months, until April 30, homeless people will be privy tocreature comforts that others take for granted: a place to sleep, shower, use the bathroom and get a meal.

The new campsite also will be a place where people can develop a sense of stability, start looking for work and eventually move into low-income housing, Murphy said.

"We'll try and provide for them reasonable living conditions, social service support, a warm meal at night and just treat them with respect and dignity and try to help them get out of the difficulties and throes of homelessness,'' he said.

The new tent city is in an industrial zone, away from residential and commercial areas. Last year's tent city in St. Petersburg, and another that sprang up nearby, drew complaints from adjacent businesses and residents.

The diocese provided the land, which recently was cleared of trees and heavy brush by St. Petersburg workers. Pinellas County human services officials are providing $460,000 to help with operating costs, including 24-hour security. The money also will be used to provide direct assistance to homeless people, Murphy said.

Private donors such as Harry Stonecipher, the former president and chief executive officer of Boeing, are contributing more than $500,000 to provide sewer and other utilities. Catholic Charities is kicking in about $150,000. In all, more than $1 million in public and private money is going into Pinellas Hope.

The plan is to use vans and buses to bring street people to the site from popular homeless spots such as Williams Park in downtown St. Petersburg. The campsite is along a major bus line, and organizers envision giving some people bus passes.

The Rev. Bruce Wright, an advocate for the homeless who runs Refuge Ministries in St. Petersburg, has concerns that St. Petersburg may try to use the campsite as a way to enforce ordinances the city council passed in March.

Those ordinances, enacted in response to the tent cities that formed, essentially prohibit people from sleeping on sidewalks next to residential properties and in city rights of way if shelter space is available.

"We're already being told by such a wide range of homeless people that law enforcement is already intimidating them with this opening of Dec. 1, to the point of saying, 'Come Dec. 1, we better not see any of you guys hanging out at Williams Park anymore,' '' Wright said. "It's not really about helping the homeless as much as it is about getting them out of downtown for the tourist season.''

Wright said that though he would encourage any homeless person who wants to use the campsite to do so, many will choose not to go because of the background checks that will be required of those staying there and because it will take some farther from their places of work.

Murphy said he hopes to resolve those concerns and others by Dec. 1.

Some of the campsite's neighbors have voiced worries about safety and theft.

He's also looking for more volunteers.

"The thing we're trying to do is have a lot of community involvement,'' Murphy said. "Everybody says, 'I'll help with the homeless.' Well, now we're going to give them the opportunity. We're going to be feeding about 250 people a night for about 150 nights. You can imagine what kind of volunteer effort that's going to take.

"It should be interesting."

Reporter Carlos Moncada can be reached at (727) 451-2333 or cmoncada@tampatrib.com.

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