The burgeoning crisis in America

The Sun-Sentinel reports: 1300 of the 6400 human beings living on Broward's streets are children.

With the 1999 opening of the Homeless Assistance Center (HAC) which can facilitate a maximum of 200 people at a time (at full capacity, that's less than one-out-of-every-thirty homeless persons, on any given day), for a 60-90 day stay. "Tent City" has been closed, dismantled, and its occupants dispersed to the streets without a Safe Zone. Although HAC doesn't provide walk-in care and has no outreach program, it is still a much needed addition. But, in the words of Ezra Krieg, its Resource Director, "if anyone thinks that HAC will solve the problem of homelessness, they are sadly misinformed."

Instead, the homeless problem is being exacerbated. These folks, homeless because of a wide variety of circumstances, have no place to go, except to add many hundreds to the streets of downtown Fort Lauderdale and its public buildings. To make matters worse, much worse, the mayor and chief of police have announce a "NO TOLERANCE" policy toward the homeless and anyone trying to help them.

The city of Fort Lauderdale wants to put us in jail for "feeding the homeless."

That's right: put us in jail, for feeding the homeless.

Because we failed to compromise our belief -- our belief that all human beings are created equal, and that under the United States Constitution we are all guaranteed the same right of not being discriminated against -- we are being discriminated from serving food on Fort Lauderdale's public beaches.

(They have even begun enforcing a blatantly discriminatory Parks and Recreation ruling, adopted 5-years after L.T.N. began its feeding program, prohibiting "the provision of food, clothing, shelter or medical care to persons in order to meet the physical needs.")

That is why L.T.N. volunteers are working so hard to change the city's position and establish a new Safe Zone. A place where we can keep them strong, healthy, and presentable, until we can help them return to society as productive, tax-paying individuals. City and county officials have made it harder and harder to reach them. But, still, we will do it, and we will do it lovingly, even if it means being jailed to bring the plight of our homeless to national attention.