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Invisible Visible
In their own words:
How the global pandemic COVID-19 affects one of our most fragile and at-risk populations:
the homeless citizens of the United States of America
Miami, Florida
December, 2020
Florida Homeless 2020: est. 28, 328
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"Are you homeless?" I asked. "I'm a Buddhist," he replied.
Kyle who is from Kendall, Florida (a Miami suburb) lives on the street. "I had a job as a computer science teacher at the University of Miami, but I gave it up to spread happiness around. No, no problems with COVID-19. I don't know anyone who has gotten sick, and I am not worried about it because God will decide who she gives the disease to and who is spared. Nope, I am not worried at all!"
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Kyle lives on the streets of South Beach near the high end hotels and cruise ship port. "I make art every day and I sell it. I don't ask anyone for anything because God will make sure she provides for me."
With her boyfriend in jail, Tamara, 27, is totally alone on the streets of South Beach, Miami. "I slept on the boardwalk over there last night as she pointed to some scrub bushes at Lincoln Avenue. The virus has not affected me at all, and sometimes I go to a shelter. Yes, I have a mask."
Dale, 49, is a fixture in South Beach, Miami, and has quite a story to tell. "I don't know what my birth defect is, but I do know I was born to early." He dismissed all questions about the pandemic other than acknowledging he is aware of it and not worried about catching it. "No one is getting very close to me." he said.
"I make art using my feet, and this is my signature. I think it's pretty good!"
"No, I only drink Bud products, nothing else."
"I do not take anything from the government. They offered me $200 a month - what will I do with that? I sell my artwork and hey, don't you think I look like Abe Lincoln? People tell me I do!"
Under Florida law, sleeping on the beach is a third degree misdemeanor punishable by a $500 fine (max) and sixty days in jail, however, on any given morning in South Beach, Miami, you will find the lifeguard stands occupied by the homeless who are looking for any type of shelter. When the lifeguards report to work everyone exits the beach and begins a new day.
South Beach, Miami, Florida, is a popular place for the homeless to set up nighttime camping on the beaches. While it is illegal, it is not being enforced during the global pandemic COIVD-19.
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