[lenniel]

Years ago, during my wilder, less responsible days, I was at Cocoa beach and while doing some things young, irresponsible people do, ended up hanging out with some homeless guys on the beach for the day.
I seem to recall them saying that they lived 'on' the beach. Not sure if that's where they slept or just where they hung out and drank/smoked during the day and then slept someplace else.

So, can you sleep/camp on FL beaches? Do homeless people 'live' on the beach? If so, what beaches are the most beach bum friendly?

[macrodome2]

No you can't just be a bum on the beach. And now some towns (Key West, Sarasota) actively try to get rid of them.

[Restrain]

Homeless people have become a real problem in many areas. Can't sleep on the beach any more, prohibitions on panhandling, etc.

[jambo101]

Sleeping on the beach overnight will have the cops hassling you for vagrancy or tending to look aimless. Also the beach may seem like the place to be in the day but it gets cold and damp at night and everything ultimately gets covered in sand, then theres all the gnats/midges and other creatures that seem to come out at night.
If it looks like you are heading toward homelessness youd be better off availing yourself of one of Floridas many homeless shelters rather than living on the beach.=
https://www.google.ca/#safe=active&q...eless+shelters

[Arcenal813]

Originally Posted by jambo101

Sleeping on the beach overnight will have the cops hassling you for vagrancy or tending to look aimless. Also the beach may seem like the place to be in the day but it gets cold and damp at night and everything ultimately gets covered in sand, then theres all the gnats/midges and other creatures that seem to come out at night.
If it looks like you are heading toward homelessness youd be better off availing yourself of one of Floridas many homeless shelters rather than living on the beach.=
https://www.google.ca/#safe=active&q...eless+shelters

This. The beach isn't somewhere one should have a desire to sleep, and it gets scary at night.

[StarfishKey]

Read any one of the multiple threads on this forum where we have already answered this question. Florida is extremely hostile to homeless, more so than many other locations in the country, and many homeless report it being such a nightmare that they were grateful to survive and thus moved on to other states, with an intention never to return here again. Some have even written on C-D about it in the forums of other states. The violence against homeless people, particularly at the hands of police, is truly dangerous in FL. SFL is the worst of it, from what I know. Less and less space to hide, areas that are more and more crowded, and locals and police that are more and more dedicated to eradicating beach and street living altogether - through both legal and illegal means. Those factors come together to make for a terrible situation for those who choose to be homeless intentionally.

It's also so very wrong, when families have paid their whole lives into the system and FL resources are so extremely limited, to move to a state just to suck up all the few resources we do have, leaving people who are involuntarily homeless or broke without their rightful help as longtime citizens. And many come here to mooch, and steal water and electricity from local small businesses, without any intention whatsoever of getting involved with and giving back to the community. They are users, not givers. People who become involuntarily homeless should not have to compete with people who just don't like to work and aren't even from the state for the community's help. Small towns can only support so many people living on the street who need to borrow bathrooms and outlets, or who need emergency medical care. Vagrancy laws also make it a terrible life for those who choose on purpose to live this way.

A low-stress life can be better achieved through other means, like living in a mobile "tiny house" and parking it somewhere legally for a small fee. One can do that on Disability or on a part-time job and still live a much better quality of life than the constant physical danger and harassment of "beach"/street life. Plus then you don't deal with the rampant addicts and sex offenders that are living out there with you and trying to steal from you or assault you every time you sleep, nor the cops who want to work out their aggression on you and then claim you "resisted" even though you were sleeping at the time that they started kicking you in the head.

If one wants to be a vagabond, the US is just not the country to do it in anymore. And SFL is one of the worst places in the US to do it. Other nations that are less populated and have less of a heavy police presence are much better choices. Going intentionally to one of the highest populated areas with the least tolerance for vagrancy, the fewest places to hide, and the fewest resources for homeless, defies all logic.

Many parts of Latin America and Asia have struck me as much better for intentionally homeless people, because there are many large regions where there is no human oversight whatsoever, and the presence of drinkable rainfall and edible tropical fruit/vegetation is abundant year-round. Warm beaches in FL fit absolutely none of those requirements.

[Miss Hepburn]

Gee, I was stopped by police after 11 pm in Key West walking on
the beach with a guy and then a park at midnight!
That was 1972.
Police were always knocking on windows of cars checking for sleepers in motel parking lots...I can't imagine it now!
Would never be allowed...they are correct in the posts above.

[Roscoe Conkling]

Originally Posted by StarfishKey

Read any one of the multiple threads on this forum where we have already answered this question. Florida is extremely hostile to homeless, more so than many other locations in the country, and many homeless report it being such a nightmare that they were grateful to survive and thus moved on to other states, with an intention never to return here again. Some have even written on C-D about it in the forums of other states. The violence against homeless people, particularly at the hands of police, is truly dangerous in FL. SFL is the worst of it, from what I know. Less and less space to hide, areas that are more and more crowded, and locals and police that are more and more dedicated to eradicating beach and street living altogether - through both legal and illegal means. Those factors come together to make for a terrible situation for those who choose to be homeless intentionally.

It's also so very wrong, when families have paid their whole lives into the system and FL resources are so extremely limited, to move to a state just to suck up all the few resources we do have, leaving people who are involuntarily homeless or broke without their rightful help as longtime citizens. And many come here to mooch, and steal water and electricity from local small businesses, without any intention whatsoever of getting involved with and giving back to the community. They are users, not givers. People who become involuntarily homeless should not have to compete with people who just don't like to work and aren't even from the state for the community's help. Small towns can only support so many people living on the street who need to borrow bathrooms and outlets, or who need emergency medical care. Vagrancy laws also make it a terrible life for those who choose on purpose to live this way.

A low-stress life can be better achieved through other means, like living in a mobile "tiny house" and parking it somewhere legally for a small fee. One can do that on Disability or on a part-time job and still live a much better quality of life than the constant physical danger and harassment of "beach"/street life. Plus then you don't deal with the rampant addicts and sex offenders that are living out there with you and trying to steal from you or assault you every time you sleep, nor the cops who want to work out their aggression on you and then claim you "resisted" even though you were sleeping at the time that they started kicking you in the head.

If one wants to be a vagabond, the US is just not the country to do it in anymore. And SFL is one of the worst places in the US to do it. Other nations that are less populated and have less of a heavy police presence are much better choices. Going intentionally to one of the highest populated areas with the least tolerance for vagrancy, the fewest places to hide, and the fewest resources for homeless, defies all logic.

Many parts of Latin America and Asia have struck me as much better for intentionally homeless people, because there are many large regions where there is no human oversight whatsoever, and the presence of drinkable rainfall and edible tropical fruit/vegetation is abundant year-round. Warm beaches in FL fit absolutely none of those requirements.

By and large homeless bums choose their lifestyle and really shouldn't be afforded much more than common decency.
The fact is there are ample safety nets available for people who find themselves down on their luck.
I'm glad police roust these bums and beggars - they're a nuisance.
Let's see how much sympathy there is for them when they take up residence outside your front door and use your garden as a toilet.

[gypsychic]

I've been in Florida all my life and I don't EVER remember anyone "living on the beach" so to speak. And of course these days it is very restrictive, I know down here in Sarasota where I live beaches and parks are heavily patrolled. And has already been said here, in general Florida is a very hostile state to bums who "choose" this lifestyle to panhandle, beg and harass others. There are shelters and resources for those who are truly in need and want help, not a handout or to leech off others.

[smarino]

If you expect to be a bum, have no responsibilities, and live on the taxpayer's dime, you should run for the Congress or Senate. That's where the pros are. Local and state positions are acceptable stepping stones to the life of Riley. You will then be able to legally beg, panhandle and harass others to your heart's content.

Thieving politicians have stolen all the money in Social Security and replaced it w/ Treasury notes (IOUs), gotten us involved in numerous illegal, stupid and costly wars that have just caused most of the known world to hate us, and just voted to increase war funding (when there is no war) and cut social services and Medicare, and people are concerned about some poor soul who simply wants to live on the beach??? Some folks need to wake up and get a life. What gets me are the old folks who vote in all the Republicans, especially in this state, even though these same people are cutting services to them even as they give themselves big raises. Like the old saying, I guess you just can't fix stupid. Be kind to the beach bum....the next one you meet just might be YOU.

I live in Volusia county, a county with half a million people. There are NO shelters for single men other than the Salvation Army, where you are allowed 7 free days a year, and only three for families, in the entire county. Sounds like a bunch of 1%ers talking through their hats here about something they know nothing about. I've seen more understanding and compassion from a rattlesnake.