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Homeless Advocates Hit Street

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By GEOFF FOX

gfox@tampatrib.com

Published: April 1, 2009

WESLEY CHAPEL - Tiffany Porter's large pink sign gleamed in the hot sun.

"Help the homeless" was its message, and it was read by thousands of motorists at Bruce B. Downs Boulevard and State Road 54 during rush hour Tuesday evening.

Porter was one of about 40 people who held similar signs - some said, "How Can You Help? E-mail the governor" - along one of the most congested stretches of Pasco County's busiest east-west thoroughfare.

"We just want to bring awareness to the homeless population," said Porter, 25, of Wesley Chapel. "The cops are telling them they have to leave their campsites or they'll be arrested.

"But even if they move, they're still homeless. There needs to be a plan."

Porter, an administrative assistant at Victorious Life Church, said campsites recently were broken up behind a nearby drugstore and auto dealership.

Many of the demonstrators wore white T-shirts with large questions marks on the front. "Where do we put them?" was the question printed on hundreds of fliers.

The effort was organized through Lily of the Valley, an Angus Valley food pantry affiliated with the church.

According to information distributed by the demonstrators, there are 156 homeless people in the Wesley Chapel area. "They are real people with real life challenges," the fliers state.

Demonstrator Charles Frankulin Jr., 23, of Wesley Chapel, probably knows more about homelessness than most. His mother was homeless for several months in 2008.

Although some motorists made obscene gestures at the demonstrators, most people gladly took the fliers or honked their approval, said Brian Russo, young adult pastor at Victorious Life.

"Some people thought we were asking for money," Russo said. "We just want people to e-mail the governor."

Reporter Geoff Fox can be reached at (813) 779-4613.

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