Service providers see change afoot in reaction to complaints about increasingly visible situation
A man sleeps in Sanborn Square on a recent Saturday afternoon; some say this keeps other park visitors away. Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star
By Rich Pollack
It’s 8 a.m. on a Saturday and homeless people are gathering outside the First United Methodist Church of Boca Raton.
Soon those who came by bicycle and those who came after a long walk will filter inside to a room where hot food is in abundance, where clean clothes are available for the asking and where people can wash up in a shower if they want one.
There is a quiet camaraderie in the room, where if you listen carefully, you can hear one person offering advice on how to fix a broken bicycle derailleur or others talking about how they helped get a homeless troublemaker out of the area.
There is no one yelling, no one harassing anyone else and no one judging anyone, at least not openly.
It is a far cry from what Glenn Gromann sees when he looks at a collection of people without homes in Sanborn Square, Wildflower Park or Silver Palm Park — oftentimes including individuals with mental health or substance abuse issues.
“People are afraid to go to the parks because they’re constantly being accosted by the homeless,” he says. “There’s a huge fear factor and people don’t want to be near them because they don’t know what to expect.”
Homeless people like 42-year-old Billy, who has been unhoused in Boca Raton for 20 years, are essentially flying under the radar. But now, Gromann says, something needs to be done.
“The homeless issue is out of control,” he says. “Part of the problem is because the city hasn’t previously implemented a plan to address it.”
That appears to be changing as the new city manager, Mark Sohaney, has stepped in to take on an issue that some advocates for those without real homes say has been essentially swept under the rug for years.
“We haven’t been all in, even saying we have a homeless issue in Boca,” says Gena Vallee, the director of outreach at St. Gregory’s Episcopal Church who runs the church’s Meals with Meaning Program. “Now the mayor and the city manager are identifying that we have a real concern that needs to be addressed.”
Recognizing that there is a problem is one thing. Finding solutions, as Sohaney is realizing, is quite another.
“The goal is to protect the citizens from being harassed, accosted and threatened in public spaces,” says Gromann, a former chair of the city’s Downtown Boca Raton Advisory Committee and a former Planning and Zoning Board member who has lived in the city for 35 years.
Those familiar with the homeless issues say city-driven solutions could involve creating a task force of members with diverse interests, increasing contact with the homeless through designated civilian advocates, and identifying those who might have ties to other areas they’d like to get back to. The city could also enforce rules designed to keep city parks and streets a pleasant experience for all, while determining if additional financial resources are needed.
As the primary venue for the weekly Changing Lives initiative, First United Methodist Church in Boca Raton provides essential resources such as hot showers, clean clothing, toiletries, meals and haircuts, mostly to the homeless. Here, people browse the selection of clothes.
Homeless in Boca Raton
Boca Raton’s core homeless population is estimated by those who provide services to be fewer than 100 people. Among them are tight-knit groups with members who look after one another, who communicate with one another, frequently letting each other know what park they might be in at a certain time.
Although there are some who will come to Boca Raton for a short while, the population appears to remain steady.
Andrew Hagen, the CEO of Boca Helping Hands, which provides hot meals to homeless and others six days a week, says that the organization serves between 85 and 120 meals a day to a constant group of people, some of whom have been coming for years.
“The concern in the community is not in numbers but in perception,” he says. “It’s not that there are more people, it’s that we’re seeing them in public parks.”
During a recent City Council meeting, one resident expressed concerns about the number of homeless people she sees near downtown.
“There are homeless people everywhere, everywhere,” Paige Hunter said. “It’s completely unacceptable.”
Those who are homeless understand the perception but don’t agree with it.
“People think that the homeless are going to hurt them, but they’re not,” says Billy, who has been here so long he even had “BOCA” tattooed on his arm. He says he likes being on the streets, though he also says he’s hoping to get into a shelter.
Another common misperception is that those without a home in the city are penniless. That may be the case for quite a few, but others receive veterans benefits or Social Security benefits or even a pension, thanks in part to efforts of nonprofit organizations that help them access those benefits.
While mental health and substance abuse issues do exist among some who live without four walls, others say they fell on hard times after the death of a parent or loved one and have no family left to help them.
Members of the homeless community will also tell you that they don’t want homeless bad actors in Boca Raton any more than other residents do and will call the police on them or find other ways to drive them out.
When homeless folks from Broward or Miami-Dade counties or even West Palm Beach make their way to Boca Raton, those who provide services will help connect them back to agencies in the areas where they’ve been living.
“When someone is in need, how can you turn them away,” says Jerry Pagan, the executive director of Changing Lives, a nonprofit founded by local real estate leader and the largest commercial property owner downtown, James Batmasian. Changing Lives provides a wide range of services and runs the Saturday program at the First United Methodist Church.
Pagan says he will find out who has been serving the person and will make sure they are in contact, so the service can be provided in the person’s own community. “We try to be a bridge,” he says.
Policing alone won’t work
In the short term, the city has taken steps to limit adverse activity in Boca Raton parks, including adopting a trespassing ordinance and bringing the park rangers under the Police Department.
Some who are homeless say they are rousted out of the parks by police after 11 p.m. and forced to find other places to sleep — places generally where they won’t be easily seen.
The city will implement a process to enforce the trespassing ordinance, which is now proclaimed on signs at six parks, within a few weeks, according to Sohaney.
For his part, Gromann thinks putting fences around some parks would also help.
During brief comments at the May 26 City Council meeting, Sohaney acknowledged that an enforcement effort alone is not the solution.
“This is a very complex problem,” he said. “We can’t police our way out of it; we can’t arrest our way out of this. This is going to take an entire community effort and a community initiative to understand how to manage the homeless population in Boca Raton. ...
“It’s a lot more than the city can do,” he said. “It requires everybody in the city to come together.”
Delray Beach model
In his quest for a long-term solution, Sohaney has visited Delray Beach, which has been somewhat successful in managing homeless-related issues. Its Police Department program, which includes a community outreach team, is seen as a model for others, while a coordinated community effort — the Delray Beach Initiative to End Homelessness — has led to increased services.
Police Chief Darrell Hunter says the key to Delray Beach’s success has been a strong buy-in throughout the community and the coordinated effort that comes as a result.
“While there is no single ‘secret sauce,’ I do believe our success comes from strong collaboration between the Police Department, city leadership, social service providers and community partners,” he says. “Equally important is having intentional buy-in and support from the police chief and city leadership to ensure these efforts remain a priority and are approached with both accountability and compassion.”
The Police Department’s community outreach team, which includes Service Population Advocate Manager Ariana Ciancio, reaches out to members of the homeless community on a daily basis to help provide services if needed.
“They know there are people in the department who care about them,” Hunter says.
Ciancio, a civilian, manages a team that includes another population advocate and a paid intern. Also part of the outreach team are three police officers who report to a sergeant assigned to the team.
While working with homeless people is a large part of the team’s responsibility, it also focuses on mental health issues, substance abuse issues and homelessness prevention.
Hunter says that his goal is to continue to grow the unit to address increasing needs.
“This city has made a commitment,” he says. “It takes money, it takes time and it takes resources.”
Changing Lives volunteer ‘Coach Nile’ gives a haircut to Dee Wills.
Boca model emerging
The Boca Raton Police Department, like Delray Beach’s, has officers assigned to work with homeless — two officers currently — and members of the homeless community know they can reach those officers to help connect them to services.
The department does not yet have a civilian assigned to help the homeless but that may be something Sohaney will address.
Recently, Hagen from Boca Helping Hands, Pagan from Changing Lives and Vallee from Meals with Meaning have been getting together with members of the Police Department in what may be the genesis of a larger coordinated effort similar to the Delray Beach task force’s structure.
“We’re looking at a low-key approach with a cooperative spirit,” Hagen says. “Each of us knows what we can offer.”
Pagan sees the effort moving in the right direction.
“We’re coming together to be better equipped to help these individuals and be on the same page,” he says.
Vallee, who is hoping a task force will be formed, believes a focus on three areas — housing, financial education and long-term mental health care — will go a long way in helping those in the homeless community.
“If the city can pull us together, then I think the solution to less homelessness in Boca Raton is near,” she says.
Mayor Andy Thomson also provides some hope to those who are optimistic that Boca Raton’s issues with homelessness are coming out of the shadows.
“The situation as it addresses homelessness is a tricky one,” he says. “But we’re working with our nearby partners and regional partners to make sure we address it.”
Comments