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The state’s public camping ban has cities and counties across Central Florida holding conversations on the issue of homelessness. On Tuesday night, the Melbourne City Council in Brevard County carved out nearly four hours to hold a workshop.
The meeting’s main highlight was a lengthy discussion on whether the town should build a drop-in, overnight homeless shelter. Council members put a pin on that one, for now.
These talks follow a recent series of actions related to homelessness that started last month: On Feb. 11, the council adopted an ordinance that complies with the state’s camping mandate; and the Jan. 28 meeting moved city leaders to declare a “critical” need and adopt a resolution declaring a state of emergency on the growing crisis.
The need for resources
Leading up to Tuesday’s meeting, the city manager was tasked to identify the town’s most pressing needs, most suitable alternatives, and available resources to deploy when it comes to tackling homelessness.
Last year’s federal point-in-time count —an annual census of people experiencing homelessness— was the highest it has been since 2015, according to Brevard Homeless Coalition’s Executive Director Amber Carroll.
The best solution to address homelessness, she said, is providing shelter with low-barrier entry.
“In Brevard County, there is not a drop-in, overnight shelter for someone to receive support,” she said. “For someone experiencing a crisis and needs an overnight, safe place to sleep or our law enforcement needs to bring someone somewhere safe –instead of jail– we don’t have that option.”
Carroll also proposed a fleet of emergency shelter buses, palette shelters, and identifying land space for these. She also said the county should establish a criminal justice diversion program for “survival crimes,” which stem from basic human needs —like urinating, defecating, or sleeping— and cannot be rehabilitated through corrections or fines.
Melbourne is shifting focus
In January, the city announced that Daily Bread —a local soup kitchen open for more than 35 years in Melbourne— will close in just a few months, sooner than anticipated, and as a result of citizens’ complaints. When the day center shuts its doors for good, the neighborhood will lack services, like free hot meals, showers, mail, and case management.
But the Daily Bread’s Executive Director Jeffrey Njus said that he and his staff will continue serving unsheltered people. He said the plans include pop-up, mobile showers, hot meals, street outreach, and the 2027 opening of Providence Place — a 120-unit, multifamily, apartment complex that Njus said will help transition people out of homelessness and into housing.
Through wraparound services that address the needs of very low-income families, such as permanent supportive housing, mental healthcare, career building, and a food pantry, Njus said Providence will allow him to do something that he could never do at Daily Bread: house people.
“They appreciate a shower and a hot meal, but when they come talk to me at the Daily Bread, what they want is housing,” he said.
Mayor Paul Alfrey said “outdated” models like soup kitchens don’t solve anything and that Providence marks the city’s commitment to shift away from homeless services, toward housing.
“It’s time we start to clean up the neighborhood and the area,” he said.
Pushback from the public
Residents and prominent business owners spanning all corners of the city were part of Tuesday’s discussion. With few exceptions, most said they no longer want to deal with the people who are experiencing homelessness in their neighborhoods, claiming unsafe and unsanitary concerns.
No one who identifies as currently experiencing homelessness spoke at the meeting.
Resident Kelly Cobb’s house is located near the Daily Bread. She has spoken at city meetings before, imploring city leaders to shut down the town’s homeless services.
According to Cobb, setting up “feedings” for the unhoused has only drawn in more of them for the last 26 years.
“These feedings created these large groups,” she said. “These handouts created the hell I’m living in because right now they don’t go away. They don’t go away!”
Providence will not be located at the site of the Daily Bread.
Melbourne’s going to need help
Despite planned efforts to provide resources and help lift people out of homelessness and into permanent housing through the Providence partnership, experts said the city will still need an overnight shelter. But ultimately, the council decided against a city-backed shelter — for now.
District 5 Councilwoman Mimi Hanley said Melbourne shouldn’t be the only city providing homeless services in Brevard.
Nearly three years ago, the neighboring city of Palm Bay agreed to partner with Melbourne to build a shelter and transitional housing facility but backed out at the last minute. Hanley said other municipalities likely won’t “buy in” either, as long as Melbourne continues to lead —and fund— homeless service efforts.
“We don’t need to be the spearhead on this thing because we’re going to get the whole county to drop their people in here,” she said. “We don’t have that kind of money to do something like this.”
Council members agreed to talk with partners and leaders in other cities and the county to make plans before revisiting the shelter idea again in two months.
Lillian Hernández Caraballo is a Report for America corps member.
