Jacksonville’s new camping ban in the city limits will be monitored closely by a task force being formed by advocates of the homeless.
Salvation Army Captain Justian Corliss is forming the task force to help the city tweak the ordinance to help those unable to find a place to lay down at night.
Captain Corliss says this task force will serve in an advisory capacity.
He says they will meet on a regular basis and report to the public to make sure the entire process is transparent.
The council voted 6 to 1 to pass the ordinance last Monday night. The city council had three members missing..Don Cook, who has retired, Joe Lockman, who was on vacation, and Erin Williams, who was ill.
Corliss says a key piece of the task force will be an outreach team who will go directly to the homeless.
The task force is talking to people who will go out and speak to the homeless about where they are from, how they got to Jacksonville, and where they go.
The council felt pressure on both sides…the advocates for the homeless, and business owners who were feeling unsafe, particularly downtown.
One of the advocates, Alan Bradish continues to push for a restoration center, where the homeless could go when they have no where else.