Fort Lauderdale considers daytime shelter for homeless

Fort Lauderdale is considering opening a daytime shelter for homeless people on city land downtown.

The site, at Andrews Avenue and Northwest Second Street, is across the street diagonally from Fort Lauderdale City Hall and just two blocks north of the homeless encampment at the Broward County Main Library.

City commissioners Ben Sorensen and Robert McKinzie are pushing for the city to use the property, known as the old development permitting “One Stop Shop,” as a daytime home base for downtown homeless people. The building is not in use now. The property has been seen by the community as a future park site.

“Why don’t we ask [City Manager Lee Feldman] for a budget to clean out the building, move out storage items, bring it up to hab- conditions” and staff it, Mayor Dean Trantalis said at a city meeting last week.

Details about what services would be offered at the proposed center still have to be worked out. The proposal is in its earliest stages. But Sorensen said it could be used for bathrooms and storage of belongings. Commissioners did not say whether they’d allow the site to be used for feeding the homeless.

“The faith community, across the faith spectrum, there’s a lot of interest in just being involved,” said Sorensen, a volunteer pastor himself. “And I think a shelter at the One Stop Shop, or whatever would be appropriate, really would be a way to activate those folks.”

The city and county are working with the business community and others to resolve the problem of the homeless camp outside the Main Library. Sorensen has been holding his office hours beneath a tent at the homeless camp, to bring attention to the issue and solicit ideas from people who meet with him there.

Commissioners did not suggest that overnight camping be moved to the One Stop Shop, or that the building itself be used as a 24-hour shelter.

The longer term goal of the city, county and volunteers is to provide private housing for the homeitable