Last month, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis put his signature on HB 1365, a controversial new law that prohibits municipalities from allowing homeless individuals to camp or sleep on public property.

Enforcement of the law is unclear, and lawyer Aaron Swift argued that anyone who sues the municipality for not enforcing the bill and wins gets their attorney fees paid by the municipality.

“Private attorneys now are going to basically be stepping in the shoes of the government and suing to enforce the government regulation,” Swift, Vice Chair of the Homeless Leadership Alliance of Pinellas, told Creative Loafing Tampa Bay.

Daniel McDonald, a former TPD officer who has worked on homeless issues for 23 years, joined “The Skinny” on WMNF to discuss his take on the legislation.

Margi Dawson, Director of Development at the Turning Points nonprofit which provides services to individuals and families at-risk of homelessness also joined the program.

https://www.wmnf.org/former-police-homeless-liaison-officer-discusses-floridas-controversial-encampment-law/

Source: WMNF-FM 88.5

This is a recording of my presentation to the 2024 National Sheriffs' Association Winter Conference in Washington, D.C.

I cover issues such as:

• How did homelessness, addictions and mental illness become a law enforcement issue?
• How to navigate the politics of these issues (and not lose the next election)
• Redefining the sheriff’s role in the 21st Century: You can no longer “stay in your lane

Legal issues including the upcoming SCOTUS case Johnson v. Grants Pass Oregon.

There are different schools of thought about homeless outreach: You agency may do contact-driven outreach. You have a glancing impact upon lots of people. Activity is more important than performance or end-results.

I prefer impactful outreach. I work with less clients, but spend more time, often years, to resolve their needs. Patience and persistence are my key tools.

In this episode, I discuss some of my success stories and why you should choose impactful outreach.

Links I mentioned:

Impactful Outreach by Orgcode, Inc.

My contact information:

Phone: (800) 643-1997
E-Mail: info@homelesspolice.com
Web: homelesspolice.com