Daytona Beach, FL – 2 of the area’s largest business-related organizations give over 6 figures to the City of Daytona Beach to help solve its homeless crisis.
In separate presentations made during Wednesday night’s Daytona Beach City Commission meeting, the Lodging & Hospitality Association of Volusia County and the CEO Business Alliance offered a combined total of over $110,000.
Bob Davis – the Chief Executive Officer of Lodging & Hospitality Association – told the DBCC his organization raised at least $10,550 since January 25th, mainly from business owners and other prominent members of the community.
“The Ocean Walk Shoppes, Premiere Hotels, [Daytona International] Speedway and on and on,” Davis added. “I am very grateful to my membership for being human and understanding what the problem is.”
The money will be used to pay for temporary shelter, transportation and food for the homeless at the Salvation Army emergency shelter on Ballough Road.
Davis also encouraged other organizations around the area – especially other business-minded and civic groups – to do likewise and said that he expected several other businesses who haven’t contributed yet to do so.
During his presentation on behalf of the CEO Business Alliance, former Daytona Beach Mayor Glenn Ritchey handed over a $100,000 check and encouraged the DBCC to use it as a start towards a long-term fix.
“This isn’t anything that’s gonna be fixed in the near term,” Ritchey noted. “But we need to start and we need to develop a long-term plan that’s gonna ultimately take us to where we need to be.”
The Salvation Army shelter was opened and expanded by the city last week at the cost of around $6,000 a week. It was part of the city’s plan to legally trespass over a hundred homeless people who were camped out at the Volusia County Admininstration Building on 250 North Beach Street for over a month in a protest over the city’s decision to close nearby Manatee Island Park.
City officials claim the park had to be closed due to damage from the homeless, something that was disputed by several Volusia County Council members during a meeting where it voted to force the city to re-open the park. Other than briefly opening for inspectors later on that day, the park has remained closed.
Many Beach Street merchants complained to the city that the homeless at the camp were damaging their business through – amongst other things – aggressive panhandling of customers and going to the bathroom in public.
As the camp grew, Daytona Beach Police Chief Mike Chitwood say it evolved into a haven for criminals, forcing police to eventually come into the camp in force and dismantle it last Friday night once the city had secured the extra space at the Salvation Army shelter.
Homeless advocates have pushed the city to create a safe zone in the downtown area where the homeless can stay without fear of arrest, something the city has refused to do.
Copyright 2016 Southern Stone Communications.