Academic

No options for residents of Gainesville's tent city

Eleanor Briseno, an advocate for the Tent City residents, questions police on the decision to remove all the residents from the area.

The homeless people living in Gainesville's tent city will be forced to leave this morning or face arrest for trespassing, city officials say.

No alternative places to stay are being offered.

?We only had six days notice, and two were over the weekend. I can?t pull a miracle out of a hat,? said Jayne Moraski, director of the Gainesville/Alachua County Office on Homelessness. She wishes the city had worked on a short-term solution.

The city is working toward providing more beds to the homeless with the One-Stop Homeless Center project, which is an estimated 18 to 24 months away from completion.

Read the Independent Florida Alligator report here. And see previous posts here, here and here.

Full post as published by the 13th juror on June 11, 2009 (boomark / email).