FAC Call to Action Against Miami-Dade county’s 2500 ft Sex Offender Residency Restriction
Weekly Update 2017-08-29
Dear Members and Advocates,
We begin this week with an important CALL TO ACTION. We are encouraging all members to make their voices heard by contacting the County Commissioners in Miami-Dade County and encouraging them to repeal the 2500-foot sex offender residency restriction, which is causing over two hundred-fifty registrants to live homeless at the corner of NW 71st Street and 36th Court in Miami, without shelter, bathrooms or even running water.
This is the same homeless encampment we have been writing about for years. It is the subject of the Federal lawsuit. An offshoot of the problem that brewed under the Julia Tuttle Causeway and has been festering for a decade. Last week, the human rights tragedy was featured in the Miami Herald and the Miami New Times and on television stations WPLG and WLRN. After years of ignoring complaints and turning a blind eye to the torturous conditions, the County, shamed by the media, has decided to step in. Only who do they appoint to “help” the homeless? None other than Ron Book!
For those who have asked how they can get involved or who don’t have the resources to help in other ways; here’s how you can make a difference. Contact the Miami-Dade commission and make your voices heard! Ask them to repeal the ineffective law that has legislated so many into homelessness and has made the County LESS SAFE! Our Call to Action, along with email addresses and telephone numbers to the Miami-Dade County Commissioners can be found below.
Even if you don’t live in Miami-Dade, you should still make your voice heard. These SORRs originated in Miami-Dade and our hope is that they end where they began. You can also reach out to the Commissioners in your home county about this situation – using it as an example of the negative unintended consequences of a knee-jerk reaction. This should not be permitted to happen anywhere.
This week, our thoughts also go out to the people of Texas and Louisiana, who were hit by Hurricane Harvey. Houston, the fourth largest city in the United States, was devastated by flooding. Over ten people have died so far and thousands have been displaced from their homes. For those with family and friends in the affected areas, as well as our own family at Texas Voices for Reason and Justice (http://texasvoices.org/) , our thoughts and prayers are with you.
It’s difficult to think of this disaster and not be reminded that we, in Florida, are particularly susceptible to hurricanes. Our population, specifically, needs to be prepared, since registrants are excluded from most emergency shelters. Almost one year ago, we were bracing for Hurricane Matthew and there was a scramble to find information and resources at the last minute. Now would be a prudent time to get an emergency preparedness plan organized. If you (or your loved one) is on probation, call your PO and ask what you should do in the event of a natural disaster. For those not on probation, reach out to the Emergency Management contact in your area (http://www.floridadisaster.org/county_em/county_list.htm) to find out what provisions are going to be available for you.
Sincerely,
The Florida Action Committee
SOME HEADLINES FROM THIS WEEK
Call To Action: Miami-Dade Homeless Encampment
After years of posting about the growing encampment of transient sex offenders in Miami-Dade County, it has taken some recent bad media exposure for the County to do something about it. And who do they appoint to spearhead the effort to relocate them? Ron Book! The…
Retired Officer Opposes Sex Offender Designation on New Florida Licenses
Shalimar, Florida’s WEAR ran a story on the newly designed Florida driver’s licenses. One surprising opinion about the new license came from a retired parole officer, who commented on the sex offender designation on licenses for those registered. Here’s what he had to…
Developing Bookville IV: Suffering for a decade because of one man’s vengence.
Three major South Florida news outlets covered the pending eviction of 270 individuals from a homeless sex offender encampment, tucked away in a warehouse district in Miami-Dade County, Florida. The stories featured Ron Book, chair of the County’s Homeless Trust,…
Former Senator Greg Evers
It is with a heavy heart I break this news. Though many of you did not know him, Greg Evers was a Senator and Gentleman Farmer. He chaired the Criminal Justice Committee in Tallahassee for several years. He understood our issue better than most in Tallahassee and…