Miami residents are up in arms over a pilot program to build an encampment for homeless people on a secluded beach that’s just a stone’s throw away from an exclusive island that was once home to Oprah Winfrey, Derek Jeter, and Mel Brooks.
Miami-Dade County’s seventh district sparked anger after it quietly approved a plan to build between 50 and 100 miniature houses in the North Point Park section of Virginia Key Beach.
Residents are upset over the plan for a variety of reasons, according to reports.
Environmentalists believe the encampment will destroy the island’s fragile ecosystem, while recreational enthusiasts think it will hamper their ability to spend time outdoors unhindered, according to The Daily Beast.
Advocates for the homeless are also opposed to the plan because they say there aren’t enough resources or infrastructure on the island in order to facilitate access to transportation, sewage and food.
“You’re taking the chronically homeless, shelter resistant population, bringing them to an isolated area, removing them from everything they know, providing only mobile services and pretty much isolating them on an island two miles from the nearest roadway,” Esther Alonso, the owner of Virginia Key Outdoor Center, told WSVN-TV.
Virginia Key, a largely isolated island, currently houses a magnet public high school as well as a wastewater treatment plant. The nearest grocery store is some six miles away.
Miami-Dade officials have tentatively approved plans to build up to 100 miniature homes on Virginia Key.Getty Images/iStockphoto
It is also right next door to Key Biscayne and Fisher Island — home to some of the priciest real estate in the country.
Celebrities who have bought real estate in these areas include Argentinian soccer icon Lionel Messi, actor Andy Garcia, pop star Cher, tennis legends Boris Becker and Andre Agassi, “Pretty Woman” star Julia Roberts, and hockey star Pavel “Russian Rocket” Bure.
On Thursday, hundreds of residents expressed their displeasure during a District 7 town hall meeting that was broadcast via Zoom.
In the comments section, county commissioners were inundated with messages denouncing their plan.
“Are the homeless that are going to be housed illegal immigrants or are we first going to house homeless US Citizens?” one resident wrote.
Miami residents are outraged over a plan to build an encampment for homeless people on an isolated beach island.WSVN 7 Miami
The commenter added: “if we’re putting tax dollars to not even take care of US citizens then we need to refocus altogether.”
Another commenter said: “Bad, Bad idea. Bunch of dummies.”
“These ‘Tiny homes’ would be for rent on Airbnb in no time,” another town hall attendee fumed.
Virginia Key is just a stone’s throw away from Fisher Island, one of the most exclusive residential areas in the country.Getty Images/Eye Em
County officials voted 3-2 to advance the plan, but Ken Russell, a commissioner who is opposed to the so-called “transition zone” in Virginia Key, said that Miami Mayor Francis Suarez has the “ability to veto any actions by the city commission.”
“It’s embarrassing for the city,” Russell told The Daily Beast.
“It perpetuates this reaction from residents like ‘not here, do it over there.’ It’s not only that this is the wrong location for this idea, but it’s the wrong solution.”
Carol Coleman had been dreaming for years when she stumbled on the rundown church campsite that is now the Joanna Life Skills Centre.
Her husband Rob was passing through the small farming area in South Australia’s Coonawarra region for work when he spotted it.
Once Carol saw it, their Adelaide life as they knew it changed forever.
“I was hysterical. All I could see was people in a safe place, warm in bed and with food in their mouths. And that was just so important to me,” Ms Coleman said.
“It wasn’t a choice. It was like this has been shown to us. We have to do it. We just have to do it.”
When they bought the site in 2017, its 12 buildings, with 42 bedrooms, had been vacant for two years and were in need of desperate repair.
It didn’t matter.
“When you’re working in mental health and you see the terrible situations that people are in, you look at a place like this and think ‘this place can make a big difference’,” Ms Coleman said.
There are 12 buildings on the property including a recreation room, commercial kitchen, and seven housing blocks.(ABC South East S.A.: Bec Whetham)
“So we packed up and we’re here.”
Over the years, they’ve chipped away at renovations, getting the place up to a good living standard for the people with disabilities and mental health needs that come to stay.
The NDIS registered service looks after 15 people at any one time. Most visit for two weeks to “catch their breath”, while others have stayed 12 months.
While there, visitors help clean and look after the animals. They have the opportunity to learn life skills like cooking and changing a tire.
“The whole idea is that they can look after themselves at the end of it all,” Mr Coleman said.
“While they’re vulnerable, they can be here. And when they’re a little more settled, they can go elsewhere and enjoy their life.”
Carol has created a pamper room for visitors to relax in.(ABC South East S.A.: Bec Whetham)
Vision for the site
Carol Coleman isn’t afraid of vulnerable people. Before studying as a nurse, her mother’s trade de ella, she worked as a cleaner at Glenside Psychiatric Hospital in Adelaide.
“Back in the 80s, people were looked after really well,” Ms Coleman said.
“It was once people started to be moved out into the community that people really started to struggle.”
While some residents who went into homes received lifetime support, Ms Coleman said others didn’t.
There’s lots to keep people busy at the center.(ABC South East S.A.: Bec Whetham)
“I remember one particular lady was placed in a house across the road from me. She only used the lounge room and the toilet because she was too scared to go into the other rooms,” Ms Coleman said.
“She was a paranoid schizophrenic.
“She ended up walking out in front of cars because she was so distressed.”
Ms Coleman doesn’t know where she ended up.
“It’s people like that you just want to wrap your arms around and go, ‘you can be safe here. You don’t have to be frightened anymore’,” Ms Coleman said.
“There are thousands of people in situations that it’s just cruel to them.
“It’s not something to look down on, it’s something to open people’s eyes and go, ‘How can we help?'”
The basketball court at Joanna Life Skills Centre.(ABC South East S.A.: Bec Whetham)
While the center may be Carol’s vision, Rob is just as involved.
His experience managing waste transfer systems for 45 years has been put to good use.
“I find managing people in local government is pretty much the same in managing people here,” Mr Coleman said.
“Everyone has problems. It’s about transferring those skills of dealing with people over to dealing with people on a day-by-day basis.”
Learning life skills
Molly is using the center to catch her breath after a tough divorce.
During her month there, she has enjoyed coloring in, playing puzzles, going to the recreation room, and feeding Rosie the lamb.
“I like it here. It’s much calmer,” Molly said.
“Being in Mount Gambier was so stressful, I was so stressed all the time. I just couldn’t cope. But being here, I love it.”
Getting to know lamb Rosie has been one of the highlights of Molly’s stay.(ABC South East S.A.: Bec Whetham)
Lately, she’s been busy preparing for her first prom later this month. The Colemans are taking her from her.
“They encourage me not to give up on things. If I say I don’t want to, they say, ‘come on. You can do it’,” Molly said.
“They’re really sweet and kind and caring for me.”
Required to help look after the grounds, Molly has taken to her new responsibilities well.
“It’s all part of normal life. If they’re going to leave here and go and find their own place to live, they’ve got to be able to look after what they’ve got,” Mr Coleman said.
Molly making herself useful.(ABC South East S.A.: Bec Whetham)
Five years in the making
The work on site continues. In five years, they’ve managed to renovate most of the accommodation — adapting 42 small bedrooms to fewer but larger rooms with more living spaces and wet areas.
“It’s taken us a long time. Two people can only work so fast. And then you have to have the funds to buy materials,” Ms Coleman said.
“It’s been a hard slog but it’s absolutely worth it.”
Rob has turned an old school building on the site into a functioning gym. He just needs to clad the outside.(ABC South East S.A.: Bec Whetham)
They were able to fund the project early on by accommodating local meatworkers.
“We were contacted by Regional Development when we arrived,” Ms Coleman said.
“That was like a gift from heaven because they basically gave us the opportunity to establish the place. We housed probably 140 workers over two years.”
Various animals call the center home.(ABC South East S.A.: Bec Whetham)
future hopes
The Colemans plan to keep adding facilities to the site — like a woodworking shed and community garden.
“The property’s huge. We have to use it,” Ms Coleman said.
Whilst clients can already access occupational therapist, dietitian and physiotherapist support at the center, the couple hopes for more services.
“In the future, it needs to be a one-stop-shop so that people have got all the support around them that they need,” Ms Coleman said.
“These people are humans, they’ve got a whole lot of needs. And it takes an army to fill those needs.”
Those staying are encouraged to enjoy the recreation room.(ABC South East S.A.: Bec Whetham)
Having extra staff around is also crucial for lightening the couple’s load.
They have had just one day off in five years but it’s a price they’re willing to pay.
“This is our retirement,” Ms. Coleman said.
Mr Coleman said people tended to stay in contact after they left the centre.
“Carol often gets a couple of phone calls a day from past ones that have been here. And they just check in, say hello,” he said.
“Sometimes they might not be feeling that great. And a chat for five minutes is enough to keep them on track.”
Rob and Carol Coleman are committed to being here for the long haul.(ABC South East S.A.: Bec Whetham)
After the implications of renovations and COVID-19, the Colemans say they’re ready to take on more visitors.
“We’ve been under the radar for some time,” Ms Coleman said.
“For a place this big with so many opportunities, people need to know that we’re here.”
A homeless man who was tackled to the ground and arrested in front of the South Australian Premier at a press conference in Adelaide says he feels he was unfairly targeted by police.
Key points:
Aaron John Rudd was arrested during a press conference held by Peter Malinauskas on June 30
He was handcuffed face-down on the pavement by the Premier’s security
He says he was “just curious to watch”
Aaron John Rudd, 54, was arrested during a scuffle with security at a press conference held by Peter Malinauskas on Hutt Street in Adelaide on June 30.
A plain-clothed police officer asked him to move back because he was getting too close to the Premier.
Rudd was then escorted away by Mr Malinauskas’s security detail and handcuffed face-down on the pavement in scenes that were captured on camera by the gathered media.
Mr Rudd, who arrived at the Adelaide Magistrates Court today with a guitar, is charged with disorderly behavior and resisting police.
After his court hearing, he told the media he meant no harm when he moved closer to the press conference to see what was going on.
“I was just passing by and was curious to watch, see what it was about,” he said.
“I feel very much that I was unfairly targeted.
“I just think it was maybe the ignorance of the police officer, he should be trained better to be more diplomatic about these situations, it’s not the way to handle a situation like that.
“People like that they should be a bit more professional, treat the public with a bit more dignity and respect.”
Mr Rudd was handcuffed face-down on the pavement on June 30. (abcnews)
Mr Rudd said he used to be a full-time carer and has been living on the streets since losing his job and felt passionately about advocating for the rights of disadvantaged people.
“I’m very compassionate and very passionate about street people,” he said.
“These people have a heart and I care for them, I like being around them.”
Mr Rudd said he did not know who Mr Malinauskas was, but felt it was his right to “bear witness” at the press conference.
He said the police officer and security detail were “aggressively intimating” towards him and he tried to defend himself.
“I pushed him, I met him with equal resistance. I was not charged with assault because, as I said to them, this will reflect in footage,” Mr Rudd said.
When asked by reporters if he might write a song about what happened, he said “maybe one day” and that it would be called “freedom for the people, a right to witness.”
Layla was only in grade eight when she found herself on the streets.
Key points:
Youth homelessness is on the rise in Tasmania
Support groups say there is a big disparity between the Youth Allowance and rental prices
There are calls to increase access to social housing for young people
After family conflict, she spent four months homeless, couch surfing, going to shelters and even sleeping rough.
Now, at 16, she understands more than most about what lies behind a statistic.
“When I was on the streets, I think I went to school three times the whole time I was out there. I didn’t have a social life … I didn’t know what was going to happen,” she said.
“Towards the end of it, I was at a house that wasn’t the nicest of houses, but I had a roof over my head most nights,” she said.
It was an incident she does not want to detail that prompted her to seek a different path.
“One thing opened up my eyes and I didn’t want to stay out there, so I packed up my crap and just went home.”
Layla then stayed with her sister and began rebuilding her life.
Homelessness on the rise
The latest Census data on homelessness will not be released until next year, but support groups say it is already apparent the issue has worsened over the past five years.
Shelter Tasmania’s Pattie Chugg says the state has the highest proportion of people who are homeless.(ABC News: Scott Ross)
A recent Mission Australia survey found that, during the COVID pandemic, more than one in 30 young Tasmanians experienced homelessness for the first time in their lives.
Pattie Chugg from Shelter Tasmania said 6,600 people a year accessed housing services and that number was increasing all the time.
“Tasmania has the highest proportion of people [who] are homeless because they haven’t got affordable rental, and for young people that’s exacerbated very much for them when they are on lower incomes, part-time [or] casual wages or Youth Allowance,” Ms Chugg said.
“It’s a really simple equation in some ways. We’ve got a lot of people on low incomes. We’ve got rents that are rising and then those two things come together. It is the people with the least amount of resources [who] are the ones missing out the most.
“We’ve got this perfect storm really of not enough affordable housing to house people in Tasmania.”
Middle group emerging
Tania Hunt from the Youth Network of Tasmania has called for more social housing for young people.(ABC News: Maren Preuss)
Advocacy group Youth Network of Tasmania is concerned there is an emerging group of young people who are homeless because they do not qualify for the public housing waiting list.
“We are seeing young people {who]are not necessarily eligible for social housing, and can’t afford to enter the rental market. So, what do we do for those individuals?” Youth Network chief executive Tanya Hunt asked.
“They need to be allocated more social housing in my view. They need to be prioritized, to reduce homelessness in our community.
“We know that there is high youth unemployment in Tasmania. We know that underemployment is a significant issue. [There’s] transport disadvantage, low incomes — there’s a range of challenges that contribute to housing insecurity and homelessness for young Tasmanians.”
Ms Hunt said the COVID-19 pandemic had also taken a toll.
“Young people experienced unprecedented job losses and a range of other challenges that resulted in housing insecurity and homelessness.”
She said it was difficult to know the exact number, but young people were over represented in the homeless population.
“The problem in Tasmania is often hidden, with young people couch surfing with friends and family, sleeping in their cars and sleeping rough.”
Both Shelter Tasmania and Youth Network say that increasing the Youth Allowance is key to keeping young people off the streets.
“Very few people know how little Youth Allowance is: It’s only $500 a fortnight,” Ms Chugg said.
“Why is Youth Allowance so low and less than an adult’s income on unemployment and other benefits when all their other costs are the same?”
Support groups say there is a growing disparity between government youth payments and rental prices.(abcnews)
State government urged to do more
Hobart City Councilor Jax Fox was behind a move to cap new, short-stay accommodation in an effort to increase rental stock, a measure that is now before the Planning Commission.
In the past, they have also couch surfed and lived in tents, but they say it was “very much on the light end” of homelessness.
“When I was younger my family would just kind of camp, we moved around a lot. It was very socially isolating,” Cr Fox said.
Hobart City Councilor Jax Fox has experienced couch surfing and living in tents.(ABC News: Maren Preuss)
“Housing is the first thing that you need to survive.
“If you don’t know somebody who is going through this, or has gone through this, you are deliberately not looking, because it’s everywhere.”
The Tasmanian government has promised to build 10,000 homes in the next 10 years but Cr Fox says even that is not sufficient.
“There are 4,000 families — not individuals, families — on the [waiting] list now. So, if we are going to build houses just for them without the list growing, it is going to take four or five years for the current demand to be met.”
Cr Fox wants more money for emergency housing, access to hotels and a vacancy tax.
“Aside from building more housing, we need a vacancy tax. There are heaps of empty houses around Hobart,” Cr Fox said.
“If people can sit on houses as investments and incomes when others are starving on the streets, how detached from reality do you have to be to think that’s an OK thing to do?
“We should ban short-stay accommodation altogether.”
Data shows that, once a young person experiences homelessness, they are more likely to do so again in later life.
Layla, pictured with her support worker, Heidi, is no longer homeless and tries to help others who are.(ABC News: Maren Preuss)
And being homeless brings with it complications that are hard to overcome.
Understanding much of that, Layla is now looking out for others in the same predicament.
“We’ve got a friend down at the supermarket who is homeless and we help him out every time we go down there. Every day he is there,” Layla said.
“Everyday he’s there and he lives up in a tent in South Hobart and he’s freezing at the moment.
“We bought him some tuna and stuff last night and he can’t even get Centrelink because he doesn’t have a home address. It’s a bit sad.”
Unemployment and transport disadvantage are some of the factors at play in youth homelessness.(ABC News: April McLennan)
Pattie Chugg has urged young people to seek out support services by contacting Housing Connect.
“It’s important to make contact through school, support services. There is help there and it’s important our youngest citizens are looked after.”
Premier Jeremy Rockliff said his governments’ plan for 10,000 affordable homes over the next 10 years was “a number that is no doubt a challenge, but we will get there.”
He said the government “recognizes the pressures of homelessness [and we are] looking behind the reasons for homelessness, the mental health pressures, people’s health and wellbeing.”
Mr Rockliff said the government would “engage with key stakeholders such as the Tasmanian Council of Social Service and other advocates in ensuring we have the right policy settings and investment is targeted in the right areas.”
Work has begun on the first stages of the South Australian government’s plan to build 400 new public houses as advocates say the housing shortage is worsening by the day.
Key points:
In South Australia, 17,000 people are on the waiting list for public housing
The state government has signed contracts to build 44 new homes
It’s part of a $177 million plan to build 400 new public houses
There are currently 17,000 people on the waiting list for public housing in South Australia, with nearly 4,000 of those in category one, deemed in urgent need of shelter.
The state government has budgeted $177 million on its plan to build 400 new public houses across metropolitan Adelaide and regional South Australia.
So far, the construction of 44 homes has been given the green light in Kilburn, Woodville Gardens, Parafield Gardens, Salisbury Downs, Elizabeth Park, Elizabeth East, Elizabeth South, Elizabeth Downs and Morphettville.
The state government has confirmed contracts will soon be signed for another 33 homes in metropolitan Adelaide and regional areas, including Mount Gambier, Murray Bridge and Mount Barker.
Out of the 400 new homes, 200 will be built in greater Adelaide, 150 in regional areas and 50 will be built for people experiencing homelessness.
Housing Trust Tenants Association assistant secretary Julie Macdonald says rent relief is desperately needed to prevent more people becoming homeless. (abcnews)
‘It’s getting worse’
Housing Trust Tenants Association assistant secretary Julie Macdonald said the extra houses were a “good start” to address the worsening situation.
“It’s getting worse. We’ve got so many homeless people because they can’t afford to rent privately so there’s more people out there waiting for housing,” she said.
“The people on this list are couch-surfing. They’re living in their cars. They’re on the street. They’re desperate for housing.”
Ms Macdonald said more hostels and supported accommodation was needed and that rent relief was crucial to prevent more people becoming homeless.
“Rent relief needs to rise because people just can’t afford the rents that have gone up so badly,” she said.
“We have got so many people in this state who are vulnerable and homeless and absolutely just torn apart with the way housing costs are rising at the moment.”
Human Services Minister Nat Cook says her department is working day and night to get more people into housing. (abcnews)
Human Services Minister Nat Cook said people in the most-urgent category include those who have fled domestic violence, children, people with disabilities, elderly people and people with complex mental health problems.
“All of those co-existing situations are taken into account when we are assessing who requires the most-urgent attention,” she said.
“Every day my office works in collaboration with community service providers, local advocates, families and the housing authority to ensure that people’s situations are truly and accurately reflected within that category.
“You see people jumping up in categories overnight because of some sort of catastrophe that happens in their life and we have to make sure that we have a service-provision model that is able to be proactive and reactive at the same time and that’s what I believe we’re doing now with the investments.”
Upgrades and maintenance
In addition to building extra public houses, the government is also planning to carry out major upgrades on 350 vacant homes and fix up 3,000 properties so they can be made available.
“We live in a great state, in a First World country, and we can’t have a situation where people are literally homeless. We can afford to do more,” Premier Peter Malinauskas said.
“That’s why we went to the election with a substantial increase in funding for public housing in the state and we’re now rolling it out as quickly as we can because we know the urgency that exists within the community.”
Shadow Minister for Social and Community Housing Michelle Lensink says she’s concerned the costings don’t add up. (abcnews)
Shadow Minister for Social and Community Housing Michelle Lensink said she had concerns about the government’s proposal.
“While we welcome initiatives to get South Australians into a home, there are huge concerns [that] properties previously allocated for affordable housing have been swiped to help prop-up Labor’s poorly costed public housing policy,” she said.
“Smoke and mirrors aside, this could be a case of Labor cutting off its nose to spite its face and that there aren’t really any additional homes coming online.”
She called for the government to check the costs on the initiative to ensure “all the figures still stack up”.
“We are also worried Labor’s costings don’t take into account huge price hikes in supplies and labour.”
