r/NoStupidQuestions • u/Garey_Coleman • 10d ago

Where are the homeless supposed to go?

Cities have been cracking down on homeless people so they can’t have encampments or stay on sidewalks. At the same time usually the shelters are full. So those who are unable to get into a shelter, where are they supposed to go?

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u/HungryIndependence13 10d ago

Florida has made it illegal for them to sleep. No joke. 

You aren’t allowed to use someone else’s private property to sleep. 

You aren’t allowed to sleep on public property. 

So, they can’t sleep anywhere. They are not allowed to sleep. 

This 100% turns them into criminals against their will. No matter how hard they try to stay awake they will eventually fall asleep somewhere. 

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u/Fantastic-Campaign31 9d ago

One of the biggest "holy shit, this is what the world is really like" moments for me as a new adult was when I went on a road trip and due to limited funds some nights I slept in my car. And I learned very quick how difficult it is to legally sleep in public. My brain couldn't comprehend it. I'm technically legally not allowed to just park on the street somewhere where I'm not bothering someone and sleep? Or find an empty lot overnight?  Then I wondered about people less fortunate than I who don't do it by choice. Who have no other option. It's incredibly sad that as a society you can't just...exist, sometimes. 

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u/Available_Prune4377 9d ago

That is one of the dumbest laws to exist. If a parking lot is empty at 2 AM why can’t I park there and sleep

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u/kmoz 9d ago

Because many people end up turning it into their personal RV park. The back aisle at a walmart (or wherever) parking lot is damned near always empty, so your argument would also apply to every other time in the day. Then you end up with people basically turning it into a shanty RV park.

I am very sympathetic to homeless people, but this is a major problem where I live (LA).