There has been a big crackdown on homelessness in Florida, with local and state bans on public encampments that risk worsening the street-to-jail-back-to-street cycle that makes this problem so hard to solve. That’s why officials across South Florida have been touting a planned facility that would treat some of the most acute cases of people suffering from mental health issues. The facility would keep individuals off the streets and out of jail, where they cost taxpayers millions.
After nearly two decades of work and advocacy, the Miami Center for Mental Health and Recovery has been built and could soon open in Allapattah. But a crucial vote by the Miami-Dade County Commission on Tuesday could derail the project, leaving the program in limbo. Worse, we worry it would dismantle the mission to address mental health, and its impact on society, in a meaningful way.
That would be a mistake…