Fort Lauderdale homeless put up in motels during pandemic refusing to leave as state's coronavirus surges

Some homeless people in Fort Lauderdale who have been living in motels for three months as a part of citywide efforts to contain the spread of the coronavirus are reportedly refusing to leave if the state cannot come up with the funding to extend the program that’s kept them off the streets.

Fort Lauderdale began distributing motel vouchers in late April to house the homeless during the pandemic.

Mayor Dean Trantalis said Sunday that funding to keep the voucher program in place has run out, the South Florida Sun-Sentinel reported. A city memo said the more than 60 people at the Rodeway Inn and Suites on State Road 84 in Dania Beach must vacate their rooms by 11 a.m. Monday.

By Sunday evening, Trantalis told the newspaper that City Manager Chris Lagerbloom was able to contact Gov. Ron DeSantis’ office, which reportedly agreed to give Rodeway Inn and Suites the funding sometime this week to keep the homeless guests in motel rooms as cases in the state spike at record highs.

“The governor wants to avoid this crisis as much as we do,” Trantalis said. “We’re going to pay for these rooms and we have a good relationship with these motels.”

Alexis Butler, an organizer with Fort Lauderdale’s Food Not Bombs, which hands out meals every week at Stranahan Park, said she’s skeptical the state fun... (Read more)

Latest News