Full-page Ads Confront Trantalis: Arrests Don’t Fix Homelessness

Sun Sentinel and Miami Herald ads tell Ft. Lauderdale mayor criminalizing poverty will not solve the affordable housing and homelessness crises in South Florida

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Housing advocates with Housing Is A Human Right, a division of AIDS Healthcare Foundation, placed a full-page advertisement in both the Sun Sentinel and the Miami Herald Thursday (8/22/24) exposing Fort Lauderdale Mayor Dean Trantalis’ latest cruel and inefficient plan to address the housing affordability and homelessness crises in Fort Lauderdale.

In his August 2024 newsletter, Mayor Trantalis announced his intention to arrest people who have nowhere to live, incarcerating them for up to 60 days. His plan to park more police in homeless hotspots and place one person in charge of “multi-departmental efforts” to contain homelessness only will make the problem worse. Instead of advocating for affordable housing and rent control regulations which could give unhoused people the ability to afford a place to live that isn’t on public property, Trantalis’ aggressive approach only forces unhoused people into a revolving door that is the broken penal system.

“An arrest or detention can create a domino effect that makes it even harder for individuals to find stable housing. A criminal record can disqualify someone from housing opportunities, create barriers to employment, and further entangle them in the criminal justice system,” said Ebonni Chrispin, Legislative Affairs and Community Engagement Director, Housing Is A Human Right. “The mayor does not have to make it even more difficult for poor people to live. Instead, he should have the courage to point to available solutions. Criminalizing homelessness is not a solution.”

The full-page advertisement addressed to Mayor Trantalis reads as follows:

LOCKING UP THE HOMELESS IS CRUEL
Criminalizing poverty will not help the 1.3 million people experiencing housing insecurities in Florida.
People are homeless because the rent is too damn high.
Luxury buildings are sprouting up everywhere without any provision for the disabled, the elderly, or minimum wage workers.
Ft. Lauderdale is a wealthy city. It can well afford to be compassionate.