The Sheltering Tree will open the Flagler County cold-weather shelter Tuesday night–March 19–at Church on the Rock in Bunnell. The shelter is run entirely by a corps of Sheltering Tree volunteers, who operate in teams.
Poverty
DeSantis Thinks He’s Abolishing the Homeless by Banning Them from Sight. He’s Wrong.
DeSantis and lawmakers are likely reacting to a shift in the way communities across the U.S. view homelessness from compassion to penalties and restrictions. Unfortunately, but true to form, DeSantis didn’t offer a palette of humane solutions to the homelessness problem. Instead, he spoke of the issue in stark, unsympathetic, self-absorbed terms characterizing homelessness in purely negative terms, blaming them for contributing to the erosion of the quality of life of others lucky to not be sleeping on the street.
DeSantis Lends Support to Proposal Banning Local Governments from Giving Refuge to Homeless on Public Property
Saying that while no city in Florida is contending with the issues of homelessness that are prevalent in places like San Francisco, Los Angeles and New York City, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Monday came out in support of a proposal moving through the Florida Legislature that would ban local governments from allowing people to sleep on public property without a permit.
Targeting Homeless, Lawmakers Want to Forbid Local Governments from Allowing Sleeping on Public Property
A Senate committee Monday backed a proposal that would prevent counties and cities from allowing people to sleep or camp on public property without permits. Bill sponsor Jonathan Martin, R-Fort Myers, called his proposal (SB 1530) a way to address a mental-health crisis in the state and to assist the “chronically homeless.”
Flagler Cares Offer One-Stop Help Night on Range of Social, Medical and Legal Services Jan. 24
Join Flagler Cares and other community partners for this one-stop Help Night offering a range of social, medical, legal and other services from 3 to 7 p.m. Jan. 24 at Flagler County Village, City Marketplace, 160 Cypress Point Parkway in Palm Coast. Help Night is on the third floor of Building B, Suite 302.
‘That Was My Home’: The Homeless Are Being Purged Out of Their Encampments
More than 653,000 Americans are experiencing homelessness in 2023, a 12% increase from last year. Among the people experiencing homelessness, 64% are unsheltered. As tent encampments continue to dot urban landscapes — strewn around parks, along sidewalks, lining highways or sometimes abutting schools — many cities have increased their sweeps, some governors have announced funding to clear encampments, and several states have outlawed the tent communities altogether.
Yes, the South Has a Poverty Crisis
By a range of economic indicators — personal income per capita and the proportion of the population living in poverty, for starters – large parts of the South, and particularly the rural South, are struggling. About 1 in 5 counties in the South is marked by “persistent poverty” — a poverty rate that has stayed above 20% for three decades running. Indeed, fully 80% of all persistently poor counties in the U.S. are in the South.
Outreach Event Providing Wide Range of Social Services for Needy at Cattleman’s Hall Friday
Flagler Fall Outreach, a free event providing access to and information about a range of social service, health, education, legal and recovery services, will be held from 1 to 4 p.m. on Friday (October 20) at Cattleman’s Hall at the Flagler County Fairgrounds at 150 Sawgrass Road, Bunnell.
Health Care’s Familiar Symptoms: GOP Wants Less Regulation, Democrats Want More
GOP health plans would allow more employers to bypass the landmark health insurance overhaul’s basic benefits requirements and most state standards. Democrats want to limit short-term plans’ length before people go into ACA plans. Meanwhile, many still struggle to afford deductibles or other costs.
Yes, There Is a Free Lunch
Step back a moment and take stock of the paradox. On one hand a community can and should take pride in its willingness to rally for those in need. On the other hand, there should not be such things as food drives–not in a country that presumes itself wealthy and civilized. There should not be food insecurity, period. Basic nutrition is a human right, as ought to be universal food assistance where necessary and free school meals whether necessary or not.