JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – On any given morning, you can find people lined up outside of the Sulzbacher Center, sitting on the sidewalk.
Some are from out of town and others are from right here in the River City, but they have one thing in common: They don’t have a place to call home.
Amongst the group one morning, News4JAX met Darell Dean, who was born and raised in Jacksonville but left a few times seeking a better life.
“I moved to St. Augustine, went to Chicago and I even moved to Kentucky,” Dean said. “Everybody ends up right back in Jacksonville.”
No matter how far he goes, Dean said, he always makes his way back home and sadly never under good circumstances. He lives on the streets, like many people we met outside of Sulzbacher.
“The population of the homeless is getting bigger and bigger. It’s always new faces,” said one man experiencing homelessness who declined to share his name. We’ll call him John.
John lived on the streets in Chicago but came to Jacksonville for a fresh start. He makes only $10 an hour as a dishwasher and can’t afford rent.
“When it comes to the homeless, you have to think about yourself, honestly,” John said. “Can you not end up in that same predicament?”
Bus tickets
Many of the people outside the center said the bus system is a huge reason why so many people come to Jacksonville. They said advocacy groups and nonprofit groups purchase the tickets for them to go to another city for better opportunities.
“A lot of people come to Jacksonville because people tell them that if you come to Jacksonville, you are going to get more help here,” Dean said.
Dean said leaving Jacksonville is usually a hassle but coming in is always much easier because the other cities sending you to Northeast Florida have programs to help with the travel.
“There are programs up there that will give you vouchers to eat with,” Dean said. “They know how long your trip is and some of them know how long the layover is. Sometimes you have a three- or four-hour layover, so they give you vouchers for a hotel room.”
Dean said Maine is the best place to travel to because the state offers the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), long-term housing and education courses.
Dawn Gillman, CEO of Changing Homelessness, confirmed that advocacy groups and nonprofits will purchase bus tickets for those without homes, but they need to prove they have a strong family connection in the city they are traveling to.
The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office has its own program called Homeward Bound, where JSO provides free bus tickets to people to travel home -- as well as providing other local resources.
The department said they have helped 42 travelers since October and 240 total in 2024.
‘Targeting the homeless’
Gillman said homelessness in Northeast Florida increased by 8% since last year.
But those numbers could change drastically now that the warning period is over for a new Florida law that makes it illegal to sleep in public places without a permit.
The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office said that so far this month, 23 people have been arrested since the grace period ended. Along with the arrests, officers are also issuing NTAs (notices to appear).
Dean said some who are experiencing homelessness are resorting to sleepless nights to avoid ending up in handcuffs.
“A lot of people just don’t sleep,” Dean said. “If you come out here at three or four in the morning, you will see homeless people just walking around because they are scared of getting arrested.”
The law went into effect last month but Jacksonville police didn’t immediately enforce it.
But those impacted are starting to feel the pressure of the law.
“It’s sad. It actually angers me, because now I feel you are targeting the homeless,” Dean said. “I was sitting in the park and two of my friends were lying down, so I told them to get up before they get arrested,” Dean said. “He [a JSO officer] gave them a break and only gave them a warning. But he literally told us, ‘This is my park, and I’m assigned to this park. I gave y‘all a break this morning. If I come back here and y’all are sleeping here again, you’re going to jail.’”
John echoed Dean’s frustration.
“If someone has no place to go, where do you think they will go? Outside. It’s stupid,” John said.
The city introduced a bill to allocate $1.3 million to expand bed capacity in certain shelters.
“Expanding beds? Once those beds are crowded then what will they do?” Dean asked.
The bill to address the shelter capacity involves over $1.3 million from the Homelessness Initiatives Special Revenue Fund. If passed as is, the bill would provide over $600,000 to Trinity Rescue Mission, just under $300,000 to the City Rescue Mission, and around $400,000 to the Salvation Army.
Councilman Ron Salem said the bill is being introduced as a one-cycle emergency, ensuring the process of getting it passed is expedited. His hope is for the council to vote on it Nov. 26.
If Florida cities are not fully in compliance with the state law by Jan. 1, 2025, citizens and business owners would be greenlit to start filing lawsuits.
Because of this, Dean and many others are considering packing up again and moving to a state without these types of laws.
