In order to survive, humans require food, water, air, and something often forgotten, sleep. But for some people in the St. Petersburg community, doing something as simple as closing their eyes to get some rest could mean getting arrested. In our city, many people experience this every single day. I spoke with “Chicago”, a man who has lived this reality for years. “I was at Sarasota first, then they started arresting people down there, so I went to Bradenton. From Bradenton, I came to St. Pete, and I was on the street for three and a half years. I came here for the first time two and a half years ago.”
Chicago was in and out of a couple temporary shelters and tent communities, but the cycle of searching for shelter and ending up back on the streets also came with many arrests. “I’ve been arrested for trespassing seven times, three times for trying to stay dry. The rest were at churches, the library, and the senior citizens’ building. I was never a criminal…I’d never been arrested until I came to St. Pete. Now I’m a so-called criminal because I got arrested for trespassing.” Even just trying to stay out of the rain can lead to an arrest.
“I was trying to get out of the rain so I wouldn’t be soaking wet and catch a cold, once it stopped raining, the cops pulled up and got me for trespassing. Sometimes they wouldn’t even give me a warning… they’d just arrest me.”…