Three more good samaritans have now been arrested for feeding the homeless in Fort Lauderdale, FL.
The city government’s outlook?toward individuals forced to eke out a living on its streets couldn’t be clearer: out of sight, out of mind.
This attitude was only highlighted by the ordinance passed late last month banning the distribution of food in public. In essence?it is still okay to feed the homeless, just not where anyone might see.
Yet even in the wake of this new law, there are still a few Ft. Lauderdale residents who refuse to be cowed. Choosing?civil disobedience to combat a law they feel is unfair, they continue to feed the hungry as they have done for years, in city parks or anywhere else needy men and women gather.
The most national attention has been given to 90-year-old resident Arnold Abbott. Watch the video below.
Mr. Abbott was detained twice by police in the last two weeks for handing out food in a beachfront park, but he is not alone. On Friday, three more individuals were arrested for nothing more sinister than giving hungry people food.
Among the three placed in cuffs and taken away were 25-year-old Nikki Rye and an unnamed 17-year-old. The minor characterized his arrest as a “sick joke,” unable to contain his incredulity at being detained simply for wanting to help others. Rye claimed that the officers involved in her arrest were sympathetic to her cause, but?she still walked out the door with a notice to appear.
“I was laughing. I thought you know this is a sick joke,” said the 17-year-old minor who was cuffed and taken away. “They can’t stop us from feeding people.” (Local 10)
This is not only a Ft. Lauderdale problem, however. According to the National Coalition for the Homeless, “over 30 American cities have tried to introduce similar legislation in the past two years.”
The reasons given range from an attempt to ensure safety in food preparation and dispersal to a concern that some of the homeless may have medical conditions that could be exacerbated by ingesting certain foods or food not prepared a certain way.
The reasons sound noble on the surface, but the reality?seems far?less pure.
Placing restrictions on how and when?the public are able to provide food to the needy will ultimately result in fewer outlets for the homeless to find that food. There are only so many organizations with the resources to meet these requirements, and those that don’t will be forced to stop their activities.
Even those outreach centers that can?adhere to these restrictions are all-too-often saddled with a limited budget. Therefore?the fewer the number of organizations able to participate in providing food results in less food being distributed to those who need it.
Survival dictates that if the homeless are unable to find food in a particular city, they will go to one where they can. But as the popularity of these ordinances grows, how long before there is nowhere left for them to turn?
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