Arnold Abbott fought to feed the homeless in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida in 1999, winning the right to feed them on the beach areas. Sadly it looks like he’ll have to fight again.
Abbott and two pastors, Dwayne Black and Mark Sims, were stopped from feeding a group of homeless individuals in public and charged as part of Ft. Lauderdale’s new rules limiting where public feeding of the homeless can take place. From Raw Story:
“As contemplated on Sunday, I was arrested for feeding the homeless and received a citation to appear in court,” Abbott explained on Facebook. “However, only 4 people were fed before an officer told me to, ‘Drop that plate immediately!’ As though it were a weapon I was holding, and to go with him to the police car. After a time I was allowed to get the food back on the van and we were able to find a small churches [sic] driveway, where we set up, and fed the people who followed us over.”
The city commission voted Oct. 22 in favor of an ordinance that limits where outdoor feeding sites can be located, requires the permission of property owners and says the groups have to provide portable toilets, the Sun-Sentinel reported. The law took effect last Friday.
The new ordinance is part of a broader effort to deal with homeless people. The city has also made it illegal to sleep in public places downtown and to beg for money at major intersections. Commissioner Dean Trantalis told WLRN he doesn’t think the new laws are mean-spirited, citing services the city also provides.
The three men face up to 60 days in jail and a $500 fine, but that isn’t stopping Abbott from continuing his assistance. From Local 10:
“I’m going to have to go to court again and sue the city of Fort Lauderdale — a beautiful city,” said Abbott. “These are the poorest of the poor, they have nothing, they don’t have a roof over their heads. How do you turn them away?”
Abbott said he won’t turn them away and is planning to bring food to the beach this Wednesday evening with the expectation that he may be hit with another charge.
You can check out the video of the police action below, but the city is claiming that their laws are not as mean spirited as they seem in passing. Only time will tell how well these new rules and initiatives do for the community, but it seems there will a push back until then.