This will be a long post, but I feel everyone should read it. There was recently an article in the Times Union that somewhat outlined a new initiative being planned to solve Jacksonville’s homeless issue, particularly those that occupy Hemming Plaza. 

You can read the article here. 

http://jacksonville.com/opinion/blog/400601/ron-littlepage/2011-10-14/we-need-clear-downtown-hoboes

This was my reply to the reporter. 

Ron,
I’m a local filmmaker that made a short documentary about a year ago that profiled Hemming and the individuals that inhabit it on a day-to-day basis. I spent over 3 months down there speaking with and listening to the regulars, the passer-bys and newcomers to the area. 
The majority of them are 100% harmless and don’t panhandle whatsoever. I don’t know who suddenly planted the seed in the good Sheriff’s head to take on such an “initiative”, but I feel that its logic is completely unfounded and misguided. Rutherford has been trying to sweep the problem of homelessness under the proverbial rug of this city for years now, and his methods do not work. It didn’t work with the pay-phone removal and this new plan will not work either. If the city feels that the time has come to deal with the “undesirables” that occupy Hemming, they should take a hard look at fixing the issues that stem from the lower class neighborhoods surrounding downtown.
A good chunk of the individuals in Hemming are there on their days off from work, or to merely get away from the strife happening in their neighborhoods along NW Springfield, Talleyrand, etc…
There are homeless individuals in the park, yes, this is true. Many of them really do wish they had somewhere to rest their heads, but Clara White, Sulzbacher and Salvation Army can only house so many bodies. 
At any rate, I know you aren’t the guy to rant to. But I felt that this is a point that needs to be made very clear. Rutherford refers to these people as “hoboes”, I call them “citizens.” 

Watch it for yourself.
http://vimeo.com/17422715

Thank you for your time. 
Joe Karably”


The reporter thanked me for referring him to the link and I thanked him for the reply. 

It is neither warranted or humane to even consider rounding up those that need the most help in our city, and dumping them somewhere else with the hope that it will deter them from returning. And I’ll say it now, if the majority of the people in that park were white, this idea for “reform” would not exist. There are a few bad apples, and those that regularly visit Hemming don’t want them there either. A few bad apples does not justify what is being proposed here.