MIAMI – A new law taking effect Tuesday will impact thousands of people struggling with homelessness across Florida .
House Bill 1365 prohibits camping on streets, sidewalks, and in parks. Cities and counties are required to provide temporary shelter, where individuals experiencing homelessness will receive drug and mental health treatment.
CBS News Miami spoke with several people living on the streets of Miami.
Mildred Forti, 43, said she and her husband, Miguel Santiago, have been homeless in Miami for several months.
“To be camping out in public as we are because we can’t find a place to live because the money he makes in his job is not enough for us anymore,” Forti said. “This is another stupid law. We will start moving again and looking for a new place.”
Ron Book, chairman of the Miami-Dade Homeless Trust, told CBS News Miami, “If you are sleeping in parks, on sidewalks, or anywhere in the open, you are in violation of the law as of tomorrow.”