This Wednesday, September 18 at 9am, Tom will host Public Defender Larry Eger and Legal Aid of Manasota Director Linda Harradine and their guests to discuss the Supreme Court Grants Pass decision and new Florida law 1365 prohibiting camping or sleeping on public property. The Grants Pass decision held that local government ordinances with civil and criminal penalties for camping on public land do not constitute cruel and unusual punishment. Other guests will be Public Defender Terry Drake, Katie Ross, CEO of Suncoast Partnership to end Homelessness and Joe Pulzak, Sarasota City Attorney.
They’ll discuss:
- Who is considered homeless (and why those demographics may be different than you think)
- If someone is sleeping in a park or on a sidewalk, are they breaking the law?
- Where do Sarasota and Manatee counties currently stand in terms of the work they do to help people stay housed?
- Whether there are enough beds for the unhoused population in Sarasota and Manatee counties.