FORT MYERS, FLA. — On Friday, your Ft Myers Community Correspondent Miyoshi Price toured part of the city with Police Chief Jason Fields, as he discussed the options his officers were using, while still enforcing things like the city's no public sleeping ordinance.
Click to ride along with the Fort Myers Police Chief and your Fort Myers Community Correspondent Miyoshi Price as they talk about the homeless:
"We won't be able to arrest our way out of it," said Chief Fields. "We don't want the jails to become a homeless encampment."
That leaves a more caring, but also difficult approach: getting people connected to resources that could help.
Chief Fields said homelessness is not illegal. But, for example, other things are, like sleeping outdoors in public spaces.
"If they want to get off the street that night, if they want a bed to stay in for that night and the long term," Chief Fields said his officers would provide transportation to places like the Salvation Army.
Those public spaces include areas like Clemente Park and Lions Park, where Lee County's Housing Outreach and Treatment — or HOT— team enforces the new ordinance frequently.
According to a county webpage, Lee County's HOT Teams consist of a law enforcement officer and behavioral health professional. Teams conduct street outreach to persons experiencing homelessness, with the main goal of connecting individuals and families to housing and services. HOT Teams conduct assessments, provide referrals for housing and shelter, and connect households with behavioral health and other supportive services.
While riding with the Chief, Price saw the HOT team in action, as they interacted with a woman.
"She reached out to the H.O.T. team, and we also have them working with Lee County Human Veteran Services right now to get her into some type of transitional housing," said Chief Fields.
But it's not always that easy. One homeless advocate, Willie Joe Shotmiller, said a shelter must be provided.
"You need a place to rest," said Shotmiller. "You need a place to clean up, somebody to wash your clothes."
Shotmiller said he already sleeps in different places around the city. "You might as well arrest me now because I have to camp," he said.
The Chief said this new enforcement push still hadn't resulted in any arrests, as of Friday, anyway.
The chief said every interaction with the homeless is recorded on body camera, and because of their regular patrols and community interactions, officers tend to know the homeless people by name.
Price did ask the chief whether he was seeing more success with this resource-focused approach.
"Yes, we do have a number of success stories, said Chief Fields. "However, we do have a chronic homeless population that is just unwilling to accept those resources or accept our help."
