City commissioners marked the formal end to the city's makeshift homeless camp last week by approving steps to close Tent City.
By January the city is expected to remove the cots, bathrooms and showers at the homeless shelter, which is just off Broward Boulevard, and encourage the residents to move to the Homeless Assistance Center. That center, planned for 600 W. Sunrise Blvd., will provide beds as well as a range of programs, from job training to mental health treatment. City officials say Tent City has just not been a success. It opened in 1993 following a federal court ruling in Miami that cities must provide a place for homeless people to congregate without automatically facing arrest.
The area houses between 100 and 400 people. But some complaints say crime has been a regular problem there. And some homeless advocates say Tent City is a stagnant living situation that doesn't help its residents. ``It [Tent City) does not provide a continuum of service or care to get people rehabilitation,'' said Horace McHugh, assistant to the city manager. ``All the city does is provide an area where you can go and [be) ensured conduct is not disruptive. People may sleep all day. . . You're not addressing the problem you have. You're not being rehabilitated into the community.''
The plan city commissioners approved contains several steps: * Now through December: Inform people that Tent City will be closed and bring in social service providers to explain about the kinds of services they offer, ranging from mental health to drug rehabilitation. * October and November: The county will offer each resident a social service assessment and an opportunity to relocate to either the Homeless Assistance Center or another program. Caseworkers will conduct one-on-one interviews over three week s. * January 1999: Tent City will be closed. The canopies, cots and dumpsters will be removed. City officials said the site could be restored as a parking lot, although there hasn't been any official discussion yet. Some residents of Tent City are not looking forward to the changes. Jose Colon, 31, said he just won't go.
``I have been inside shelters before. It didn't work,'' he said. ``Too much rules. They were strict, telling you when to go to bed, when to take a shower. Just like jail. I don't wanna go there.''
Isaac Martin, 35, another resident of Tent City, also doubts whether the move will go over too well either.
``They'll be back on the streets,'' he predicts. ``A lot of these people are older people, like 45 or up, they don't want to be re-educated.'' But Charles Anderson, 37, is looking forward to the days the cots at Tent City will be folded for good. The new center will offer structure and career counseling, something his neighbors need, he said. ``A lot of people here get high,'' he said. ``They can't get high [at the new center). They'll get rules and restrictions.'' To address the homeless problem in other parts of Broward, the county is also planning to open a third regional Homeless Assistance Center with 200 beds by 2001. That center would be placed in northern Broward. City officials remain optimistic about the new site, and look forward to the day Tent City closes.
``There's nothing [now) that's giving them assistance or changing their lifestyles,'' said Commissioner Carlton Moore. ``There's [no) rules, regulations. . .''