Daytona Beach, FL - Daytona Beach officials are trying to find more temporary shelter to house all the homeless camping out in front of the Volusia County Administration Building in downtown.
City Manager Jim Chisholm and Police Chief Mike Chitwood joined Michael Pastore – the outspoken homeless advocate better known as “Pastor Mike” – in an impromptu press conference held Wednesday at the 250 North Beach Street building.
That conference was called after Chitwood – who has called Pastore an “organizational terrorist” for his role in setting up that homeless camp since the city shut down Manatee Island Park 2 months ago – met with Pastore privately to work out a solution that would effectively remove the homeless from in front of the county building.
That solution includes a temporary shelter of at least 100 beds that would get the homeless out of the elements. Chisholm promised it would be located somewhere in Daytona Beach.
This move comes after 4 people at the homeless camp were arrested Tuesday evening on various charges, including domestic violence and having open containers of alcohol in a public place.
DBPD says officers have been regularly called out to the camp ever since it formed for all kinds of incidents, including claims of sexual offenses, assault, battery and to break up fights.
Pastore – who has been fighting to get a “safe zone” established in the downtown area where the homeless can stay – threatened to take some of the homeless to other parts of Daytona Beach to engage in protests over the way they’ve been treated by the city, including to Daytona International Speedway during this weekend’s Rolex 24 race.
The homeless camp has shrunk somewhat since the Salvation Army opened up their emergency shelter on Ballough Road earlier this week, but many of the homeless are refusing to go there for various reasons even though the shelter isn’t at its full capacity of 46 beds.
The county backed away from plans to close the building earlier this week over safety concerns for its employees and members of the public. Click here for that story.
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