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Residents press council on homelessness, warn against "clean and safe" park privatization
Summary
Multiple residents and faith leaders urged the council to prioritize housing-first outreach and criticized proposals tied to business improvement districts and private security, saying such measures would displace vulnerable people from downtown parks.
Dozens of St. Petersburg residents used the council’s open-forum period to challenge enforcement-based approaches to downtown safety and to urge more investment in housing and street outreach.
Reverend Andy Oliver, pastor of Allendale United Methodist Church, said last week’s discussion of a proposed Clean and Safe program revealed ‘‘vitriol’’ toward unhoused neighbors and urged relationship-based outreach rather than criminalization. "We call them human," Oliver said, arguing policies should reflect "housing-first strategies, and mental health resources, not more systems that criminalize…
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