72% of the City of Miami’s unsheltered homeless are on the sex offender registry!
Last week we wrote about a new law going into effect in the City of Miami (Florida) that allows for the immediate arrest of homeless registrants in the city. (READ: https://floridaactioncommittee.org/miami-makes-people-homeless-and-then-arrests-them-for-being-homeless/).
FAC sent a letter to the Miami-Dade Homeless Trust asking what provisions are being made for the homeless registrants who cannot live (according to State Statute and County Ordinance) in the overwhelming portion of the City. (READ: https://floridaactioncommittee.org/fac-letter-to-miami-dade-homeless-trust/)
We are yet to receive a response to our letter, but given the fact that all our outreach to the Miami-Dade Homeless Trust, Miami-Dade County Commissioners, and City of Miami Commissioners have gone unanswered, we are not surprised.
To add a bit of context to the problem (and possibly some insight into why the lawmakers and government entity don’t seem to care about this issue), here’s an important statistic: 72% of the unsheltered are registrants. According to statistics published in a recent article, there are currently 605 unsheltered in the City of Miami. 437 of them are on the registry!
Here they are: Miami Homeless Registrants … and yes, all the absconded, confined and deceased have been removed from the count.
That’s nearly three-quarters of the homeless people in the City of Miami are on the registry! The Miami-Dade Homeless Trust has an annual budget of $137.8 Million and a staff of 26 people! With all those resources they’ve done ZERO to address this problem?
Please take a moment to share this information with the local media!
OH… We can house at least a few hundred overnight by REPEALING THE LAUREN BOOK CHILD SAFETY ORDINANCE!!!
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I’ve emailed and written letters to every commissioner, as well as to every contact FAC had in Miami. I’ve also reached out to journalists who have written about these issues.
What I’ve found is encouraging: it’s the journalists, foundations, and advocacy organizations that are responding. They want answers. They want to understand the cause, explore possible solutions, and determine what’s really happening so they can give the public more than just arrest statistics and roundup stories—whether those involve the registry or the growing criminalization of homelessness.
That’s a significant change. Eight or ten years ago, many of these same conversations would have ended before they even started. You couldn’t get people to give you the time of day. Today, more people are willing to listen, ask questions, and examine the facts.
I would love to see every homeless person in the Nation on the registry go to Miami and check in. Talk about some numbers, and power in those numbers.
The three meals and a cot is better than homeless?
PERSONAL EXPERIENCE
My time in the local jail was brutal. I essentially starved.
For breakfast, I was given a single-serving box of Frosted Flakes (about 3 oz.) with roughly 2 oz. of milk. Lunch was one slice of beef bologna that looked rainbow-colored and smelled like it had gone bad, along with two slices of bread. Dinner was rice and green beans. There were no condiments, no salt, no pepper—nothing beyond exactly what I listed.
On weekends, it was even worse. They served breakfast and dinner, but lunch was often reduced to a single slice of bread. From what I’ve learned, this isn’t uncommon in many local jails.
The facilities themselves are also extremely old. The metal plumbing leaves deposits in the water, and it has a sulfur-like taste that coats everything.
The medical situation was even more concerning. I take blood pressure medication every day, anti-seizure medication three times a day for combat-related injuries, and several other prescribed medications. Abruptly stopping these medications can be dangerous and, in some cases, life-threatening. My prescriptions specifically state that withdrawal from my anti-seizure medication should be medically supervised because of the high dosage.
I was in jail for three and a half days before I was able to post bail. During intake, I told the nurse about my medications. I reminded another nurse on the second day, and still nothing happened. On the third day, I was taken to the medical unit, where they simply had me lie down for about four hours until my blood pressure came down before sending me back to my cell.
I was told they fax the VA or private physicians and wait for a response before providing medications. In the meantime, I went through withdrawal from my prescribed medications with no treatment and no real medical assistance.
People often say jail is “three meals and a cot.” That was not my experience. The conditions I experienced felt more inhumane than how I witnessed enemies of America being treated during my military service. I’m simply sharing what I personally lived through.
Other complaints
* **Heat and lack of air conditioning:** Many Florida county jails, particularly older facilities, have been criticized for excessive heat. However, it is not accurate to say that “most” older local facilities lack universal air conditioning without current statewide data. Conditions vary considerably by county.
* **Overcrowding:** Overcrowding is a documented issue in a number of Florida county jails, resulting in temporary sleeping arrangements such as floor mattresses or “boats” in some facilities. However, not every county jail operates above capacity.
* **Understaffing:** Correctional staffing shortages have affected many Florida sheriffs’ offices, contributing to increased overtime, lockdowns, and operational challenges.
* **Sanitation and maintenance:** Numerous lawsuits, inspection reports, and inmate complaints have alleged plumbing problems, mold, pests, and deteriorating infrastructure at some facilities, though conditions vary significantly by jail.
* **Meals:** Florida county jails generally must provide nutritionally adequate food under the Florida Model Jail Standards. Some facilities serve only two meal periods on weekends (such as a late-morning brunch and an evening meal), provided nutritional requirements are met. There is no universal statewide rule requiring exactly three separate meal periods in every county jail.
* **Calories:** While many correctional nutrition guidelines aim for approximately **2,000–2,800 calories per day** depending on age, sex, and activity level, there is no single statewide calorie requirement that applies uniformly to every jail. Nutritional adequacy—not a fixed calorie number—is the governing standard.
* **Private food contractors:** Many Florida county jails contract with companies such as **Aramark Correctional Services** and **Trinity Services Group**, although some counties continue to operate their own food service or use other vendors.
* **Criticism of privatization:** Advocacy organizations, investigative reports, and lawsuits have argued that aggressive cost-cutting by private food vendors can result in poor-quality meals, increasing reliance on commissary purchases. The companies generally dispute allegations that they intentionally provide inadequate food.
* **Conflict-of-interest allegations:** Critics have argued that when affiliated companies provide both institutional meals and commissary services, a potential conflict of interest exists because dissatisfied inmates may purchase additional food. Whether this constitutes intentional business practice remains disputed and has been the subject of litigation.
* **Lawsuits:** Numerous lawsuits have been filed against correctional food vendors alleging inadequate portions, unsanitary food preparation, contaminated meals, and contract violations. Allegations that vendors intentionally reduced meal quality to boost commissary sales have appeared in some complaints, but those allegations are contested and have not been universally established in court.
Overall, Florida jail conditions differ substantially from county to county. While heat, overcrowding, staffing shortages, aging infrastructure, and food quality are recurring concerns documented in inspections, news reports, and litigation, broad statewide statements should be qualified because conditions are not uniform across all local detention facilities
Saint Lucie county has a similar law in effect.
Ridiculous and unconscionable.
While no agency tracks how many are veterans, applying national data suggests that roughly 20 to 50 of those homeless registrants may be military veterans at any given point in time or higher. These are estimates, but they represent men and women who served our country and now face barriers to both housing and reintegration. All deserve basic rights for sure.
I am one of that small, often forgotten group. Public safety matters, but veterans who have already served their country and completed their sentences should not face jail simply because there is no legal place for them to sleep. A bed should come before a jail cell.