Conflict continues over Virginia Key homeless plan

A coalition of activists will rally at Miami Metropolis Corridor Tuesday and name on commissioners to:

• Kill a plan (which was accredited however postponed final month) to deal with homeless folks on Virginia Key
• Let Virginia Key Outside Heart return to the park, and
• Present everlasting, supportive housing for homeless folks.

Background: Final month, the Miami Metropolis Fee accredited a pilot program to deal with 50 to 100 homeless folks in tiny houses on Virginia Key. The town additionally ousted the kayak rental firm Virginia Key Outside Heart from its location within the park, alleging unpaid lease and code violations.

What’s occurring: Virginia Key Outside Heart plans to offer a presentation at Tuesday’s fee assembly whereas the Miami Coalition to Advance Racial Fairness (MCARE) will lead a rally exterior Metropolis Corridor.

What they’re saying: MCARE’s government director David Peery tells Axios that town’s present insurance policies — relying largely on short-term shelters and using a police unit that sweeps homeless camps and disposes of individuals’s tents and belongings — aren’t working.

• “[The police unit] has price us practically $1 million,” since final yr, he stated, including that homelessness elevated 23% in that point, in response to an estimate from the Homeless Belief.
• The town can also be dealing with a lawsuit over its practices.

Context: The town has tens of millions of {dollars} obtainable to cowl lease for landlords who home homeless folks, however Miami properties are so in demand that it has been difficult to search out landlords to take part.