Margate Residents Push for Solutions to Homeless Crisis as City Passes Public Camping Ban

by David Volz September 23, 2024

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Nicole Collins is concerned about the homeless issue in Margate and fears it will deteriorate further.

During the September 18 commission meeting, she offered to volunteer with the city for one month to work on a solution to the homeless problem.

“We need to find a place for homeless people to live. It is a hard situation, and I want to work on solutions,” said Collins.

Collins spoke in response to an ordinance passed by the commission that prohibits public camping or sleeping in public areas. According to the ordinance, public camping or sleeping means lodging or residing in a temporary outdoor habitation in a temporary shelter like a tent or without shelter.

Mayor Tommy Ruzzano said the city must pass the ordinance in response to state legislation requiring municipalities to prohibit individuals or families from camping in the open.

According to Ruzzano, this is not to hurt people experiencing homelessness, and he encouraged residents to have compassion for homeless people.

Several residents spoke on the importance of helping the homeless and that most are hardworking individuals who don’t have enough money to pay for food, medications, and rent. They asked the city leadership to find solutions to Margate’s homeless problem.

Commissioner Antonio Arserio disagrees with Governor Ron DeSantis’s approach to the homeless situation and believes the county should handle this issue. “We are not going to arrest people for being homeless, and the sheriff has said he won’t jail people just for being homeless,” said Arserio.

A concern for Arserio is that if the commission does not comply with DeSantis’s expectations, commissioners can be removed from office.

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David Volz

David Volz has worked as a writer in South Florida for 35 years. He has written for the Sun-Sentinel, Hollywood Gazette, School Transportation News, South Dade News Leaders, Observer among others. He has an MA in Communications from Florida Atlantic University and a BA in Communications from Valparaiso University. Volz teaches Communications at Miami Dade College and Palm Beach State College. He lives in Coral Springs and enjoys running and participating in 5Ks and half-marathons.