During the Hurricane Irma emergency in Palm Beach County, for the first time 15 shelters were staffed by both paid County Government and School Board employees after community volunteerism failed to provide the human resources needed to provide this service.
In the past, hurricane shelters were staffed by the Red Cross which relies heavily on volunteers in the community. There was a shortage of volunteers to adequately staff shelters when Hurricane Matthew passed offshore in 2016. As a result, Palm Beach County Government and the School District jointly acquired this staffing responsibility in June 2017.
Palm Beach County created a new employee policy, now appearing on its job classification postings. It states, "All employees of Palm Beach County may be requested to work before, during and/or after a natural or man-made disaster or hurricane."
Local governments had less than three months to prepare and train its staff for emergency shelter work when Hurricane Irma, a Category 4 tropical cyclone, made a direct hit on South Florida. The end result was detailed in the Sept. 17 Palm Beach Post article entitled "Shelter Work Angers Palm Beach County Employees."
In truth, situations faced by county employees, many saying they were "forced to volunteer," were as dire at a few shelters as reported in the newspaper article.
The unresolved social problems in our community followed the 17,000 evacuees into the confinement of emergency shelters. They included but were not limited to unsanitary conditions, medical and mental health issues, drug abuse, sexual misconduct, petty theft, vandalism and antisocial behavior.
Palm Beach County Commissioners praised the work of county staff who served the public during the emergency at their Sept.26 meeting.*
When Servitude Replaces Volunteerism
Hurricane Irma was not the first example of county staff used as surrogate workers when community volunteerism failed during a crisis. It was during the infamous 2000 "Hanging Chad" Presidential Election that the Palm Beach County Supervisor of Elections reported a shortage of trained volunteer poll workers.
Palm Beach County Government employees continued to fill precinct vacancies in the 2002 and 2004 elections. Today, many county workers voluntarily provide this public service.
County employees received a minimum of four hours of training by the Supervisor of Elections before serving as poll workers. However, several staff reported receiving less than one hour of emergency shelter instruction prior to the arrival of Hurricane Irma.
Requiring county employees to leave their homes, families and children during a natural disaster to staff emergency shelters for several days is more than a routine job description. It is a sacrifice and a hardship. It is public servitude, not volunteerism.
If disaster staffing becomes mandatory in the future, then Palm Beach County needs to provide its employees with the same level of specialized training, labor and safety protections at assigned emergency shelters that they receive in their workplaces. County staff are a valuable resource that deserve nothing less.
(c.) Davidsson. 2017.
*NOTE: Article updated on Sept. 27. See additional articles below and in Older Posts.
Monday, September 18, 2017
Saturday, August 19, 2017
Vandals, Mayor Decide Fate of 'Rebel' Monument
As the unrestrained partisans of intolerance continue their war on America's past by defacing historic memorials across the United States, the twice vandalized and desecrated Confederate monument in Woodlawn Cemetery was removed from its pedestal Aug. 22, 1917 and placed in storage.
West Palm Beach Mayor Jeri Muoio ordered the monument removed from the cemetery on Aug. 21 after vandals desecrated the memorial for a second time over the weekend. The mayor said she has "lost her patience" with the ongoing issue. The monument was hauled away from the Woodlawn Cemetery the following day.
Once located within the cemetery's crossroads was a 10-foot high vertical block of marble with a Confederate battle flag - the "Stars and Bars" - etched into the memorial to the Old South.
In 1941, the United Daughters of the Confederacy dedicated the monument in Woodlawn Cemetery. For more than 70 years, the memorial kept vigil over the 20 former Confederate soldiers buried in the city's graveyard. It was the only monument placed to honor Civil War veterans in Palm Beach County.
An inscription on the monument reads, "Forever now, among the immortal dead where dust belongs to glory's dreamland, sleeps the fair Confederacy..."
The City of West Palm Beach was facing the same dilemma as Charlottesville and other cities across the South. What do you do with aging memorials to the old 19th century Confederacy in a diverse 21st century America?
While Woodlawn is a public cemetery operated by West Palm Beach, the monument is privately owned and maintained. It was dedicated on public land with the permission and approval of the city.
Supporters say the monument is sacred to the memory of the buried Confederate war dead. Opponents say it is reminder of the bad old days of slavery and succession from the Union.
In a statement released to the news media on Aug. 21, Mayor Muoio said, "We have asked them to remove their monument, they have not done that, so we are going to remove it for them. We will put it in storage for them and they can take it, do whatever they wish, but not on public property."
City staff removed the red paint from the defaced monument as part of its policy of swift response to criminal gang tagging. The main gate to the cemetery was locked late in the afternoon.
The mayor has publicly stated her belief that edifices such as the Confederate monument are symbols of hate, and wanted the sponsoring organization to voluntarily relocate the memorial. She has not denounced the illegal defacing of a Civil War veterans monument with graffiti as an act of intolerance.
One name tagged on the monument with red paint was "Antifa". Antifa is a far left-wing anarchist movement of self-described anti-fascist, anti-capitalist activists using "direct action" to achieve their goals.
One example of Antifa "direct action" was the defacing of Atlanta's Piedmont Park "Peace Memorial" last month by mistake. In their zeal to cleanse the nation of historic monuments, Antifa failed to read the inscription on the plaque.
Anarchists and rage mobs recently have defaced monuments honoring St. Junipero Serra, the Apostle of California; Christopher Columbus, George Washington, General Robert E. Lee and the official World War II memorial. Not even Abraham Lincoln's monument in Washington, D.C., has escaped the defilers of U.S. historic sites.
The West Palm Beach Police responded to the first report of Confederate monument vandalism at 3:30 p.m. Aug. 10. It was investigated as a "Criminal Damage to Property" incident. They received the second vandalism call at 4 p.m. Aug. 19, according to the police blotter.
Under state law, "Injury or Removal of a Tomb or Monument (F.S. 872.02)," vandals can be charged with a third degree felony for "willingly destroying, mutilating, defacing, injuring or removing any tomb, monument, gravesite or burial mound..."
It was never investigated if the mayor herself committed a felony by removing a private cemetery monument without the approval of the owner. State law requires the City Commission to hold a public hearing before a monument can adversely be removed from a cemetery.
To many political extremists, even a maximum $5,000 fine for a third degree felony is not an adequate deterrent to prevent their acts of vandalism. Historic monuments located outside of a cemetery have even less legal protection in Florida
The police are currently investigating the two monument vandalism incidents, but no suspects have been charged with the criminal act. Meanwhile, an historic Civil War memorial was permanently removed from its pedestal at Woodlawn Cemetery. Both the mayor and vandals achieved their objective.
'With Malice Toward None...'
As the future fate of historical monuments, made unpopular by revisions of history, is debated in cities across the nation, perhaps it would be wise for people of good will on both sides of the issue to consider the words of Abraham Lincoln during his Second Inaugural Address.
About one month before the end of the Civil War and his future martyrdom, the Great Emancipator said, "With malice toward none, with charity for all; with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in, to bind up the nation's wounds, to care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow and for his orphan, to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves and all nations."
There was no such public discussion or compromise in West Palm Beach. In West Palm Beach, historic monuments are removed from public view by executive order of the mayor, in violation of state law, and with the unsolicited support of the vandals who deface them.
The fate of the Civil War monument continues to be known only to the mayor and a select few in city government three years later in the year 2020.
Hopefully, elsewhere in 21st century America, citizens will work together without malice and in the spirit of charity to resolve the issues that divide us, with peaceful compromise instead of violent confrontation and cowardly acts of lawlessness.
(c.) Davidsson. 2017
*NOTE: The article was updated in 2020. See additional articles below and in Older Posts.
West Palm Beach Mayor Jeri Muoio ordered the monument removed from the cemetery on Aug. 21 after vandals desecrated the memorial for a second time over the weekend. The mayor said she has "lost her patience" with the ongoing issue. The monument was hauled away from the Woodlawn Cemetery the following day.
Once located within the cemetery's crossroads was a 10-foot high vertical block of marble with a Confederate battle flag - the "Stars and Bars" - etched into the memorial to the Old South.
In 1941, the United Daughters of the Confederacy dedicated the monument in Woodlawn Cemetery. For more than 70 years, the memorial kept vigil over the 20 former Confederate soldiers buried in the city's graveyard. It was the only monument placed to honor Civil War veterans in Palm Beach County.
An inscription on the monument reads, "Forever now, among the immortal dead where dust belongs to glory's dreamland, sleeps the fair Confederacy..."
The City of West Palm Beach was facing the same dilemma as Charlottesville and other cities across the South. What do you do with aging memorials to the old 19th century Confederacy in a diverse 21st century America?
While Woodlawn is a public cemetery operated by West Palm Beach, the monument is privately owned and maintained. It was dedicated on public land with the permission and approval of the city.
Supporters say the monument is sacred to the memory of the buried Confederate war dead. Opponents say it is reminder of the bad old days of slavery and succession from the Union.
In a statement released to the news media on Aug. 21, Mayor Muoio said, "We have asked them to remove their monument, they have not done that, so we are going to remove it for them. We will put it in storage for them and they can take it, do whatever they wish, but not on public property."
City staff removed the red paint from the defaced monument as part of its policy of swift response to criminal gang tagging. The main gate to the cemetery was locked late in the afternoon.
The mayor has publicly stated her belief that edifices such as the Confederate monument are symbols of hate, and wanted the sponsoring organization to voluntarily relocate the memorial. She has not denounced the illegal defacing of a Civil War veterans monument with graffiti as an act of intolerance.
One name tagged on the monument with red paint was "Antifa". Antifa is a far left-wing anarchist movement of self-described anti-fascist, anti-capitalist activists using "direct action" to achieve their goals.
One example of Antifa "direct action" was the defacing of Atlanta's Piedmont Park "Peace Memorial" last month by mistake. In their zeal to cleanse the nation of historic monuments, Antifa failed to read the inscription on the plaque.
Anarchists and rage mobs recently have defaced monuments honoring St. Junipero Serra, the Apostle of California; Christopher Columbus, George Washington, General Robert E. Lee and the official World War II memorial. Not even Abraham Lincoln's monument in Washington, D.C., has escaped the defilers of U.S. historic sites.
The West Palm Beach Police responded to the first report of Confederate monument vandalism at 3:30 p.m. Aug. 10. It was investigated as a "Criminal Damage to Property" incident. They received the second vandalism call at 4 p.m. Aug. 19, according to the police blotter.
Under state law, "Injury or Removal of a Tomb or Monument (F.S. 872.02)," vandals can be charged with a third degree felony for "willingly destroying, mutilating, defacing, injuring or removing any tomb, monument, gravesite or burial mound..."
It was never investigated if the mayor herself committed a felony by removing a private cemetery monument without the approval of the owner. State law requires the City Commission to hold a public hearing before a monument can adversely be removed from a cemetery.
To many political extremists, even a maximum $5,000 fine for a third degree felony is not an adequate deterrent to prevent their acts of vandalism. Historic monuments located outside of a cemetery have even less legal protection in Florida
The police are currently investigating the two monument vandalism incidents, but no suspects have been charged with the criminal act. Meanwhile, an historic Civil War memorial was permanently removed from its pedestal at Woodlawn Cemetery. Both the mayor and vandals achieved their objective.
'With Malice Toward None...'
As the future fate of historical monuments, made unpopular by revisions of history, is debated in cities across the nation, perhaps it would be wise for people of good will on both sides of the issue to consider the words of Abraham Lincoln during his Second Inaugural Address.
About one month before the end of the Civil War and his future martyrdom, the Great Emancipator said, "With malice toward none, with charity for all; with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in, to bind up the nation's wounds, to care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow and for his orphan, to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves and all nations."
There was no such public discussion or compromise in West Palm Beach. In West Palm Beach, historic monuments are removed from public view by executive order of the mayor, in violation of state law, and with the unsolicited support of the vandals who deface them.
The fate of the Civil War monument continues to be known only to the mayor and a select few in city government three years later in the year 2020.
Hopefully, elsewhere in 21st century America, citizens will work together without malice and in the spirit of charity to resolve the issues that divide us, with peaceful compromise instead of violent confrontation and cowardly acts of lawlessness.
(c.) Davidsson. 2017
*NOTE: The article was updated in 2020. See additional articles below and in Older Posts.
Thursday, February 23, 2017
School Board Muzzles Student Dissent at Meeting
At a sad time in our history when most local government agencies and commissions have placed restrictions on citizen comments and dissent during public hearings, the Palm Beach County School Board has gone above and beyond in its efforts to curtail free speech at its meetings.
The First Amendment of the U.S. Bill of Rights protects a citizen's entitlements of freedom of speech, peaceful assembly and the right to petition government for the redress of grievances - that is unless you are a 15-year-old Lake Worth High School (LWHS) student seeking to address the School Board during a televised public meeting.
Apparently, current School Board members have an aversion to confrontation at their meetings, and will go out of their way to prevent policy embarrassments in public, even if it limits the Constitutional rights of the citizens to whom they have a mission to serve.
Several LWHS students, unhappy with the dismissal and transfer of a beloved assistant principal at their school, decided to exercise their First Amendment rights by "pre-registering" as speakers before a Jan. 18 meeting of the School Board.*
School Board Policy 1.03 requires prior registration by public speakers by 12 p.m. on the day of a meeting. Speakers also are required by the policy to state the topics or agenda items they will address to administrative staff in advance.
One would think the School Board and its administration would have praised the civic-minded initiative demonstrated by the students in exercising our democratic principles. That was not the case. The 16th century Spanish Inquisition would have applauded of the School Board's reaction.
In a Feb. 19 front-page story, Palm Beach Post staff profiled the ordeal of a LWHS student named Miguel. (Since he is a minor, this article withholds his full name in the hope the School District will let him continue his education in peace and privacy.)
On the day of the School Board meeting, Miguel was called out of his class and told to report to the principal's office. In this intimidating setting, he was interrogated by the School District Regional Superintendent and an Assistant Regional Superintendent.
Miguel's interrogators questioned him about what he planned to say to the School Board. Then they tried to convince him not to speak, according to the LWHS student. To their credit, Miguel and three other students appeared before the board and tried to present their views.
However, intimidation by high-ranking School District administrative officials wasn't the only hurdle faced by the young scholars. Next they had to endure the wrath of the School Board chairman while making their presentation.
The School Board usually remains silent and taciturn during the "Comments by the Public" segment of the agenda. Miguel and his classmates faced interruptions by the chairman while making their prepared comments, and were warned not to mention the names of the LWHS principal and assistant principal under investigation by the School District.
Confronted by hostility by the School Board and staff, Miguel displayed nothing less than a profile in courage. The same can't be said for the School Board members who failed to come to his defense.
The School Board defends their policy by saying the district is trying to be proactive and resolve conflicts before they come to public hearings. However, several parents and students contacted by administrative staff in the past contend such "persuasion" is not always "friendly".
There is not a happy ending to Miguel's saga. Faced with a less than friendly campus atmosphere at LWHS, the student transferred to another school.
Censorship with a Smile
Ever since the beautiful Par-3 Forest Hill Golf Course was paved over by the School Board to build a confusing concrete labyrinth named Fulton-Holland Educational Services Center, this so-called "Taj Mahal" of education has housed a bureaucracy that is legendary to both teachers and parents for its glacial administrative power of inertia.
In such an environment, it is tempting for board members to pass along real educational concerns of students, teachers and parents for their administrative staff to handle, (then file and archive), instead of resolving issues head-on at public hearings.
There are few opportunities for the public to interact with their elected boards. Any roadblocks built by government officials to restrict this vital face-to-face feedback by citizens does the community a disservice.
Below are the politically correct "Top Five Local Rules to Limit Free Speech at Public Hearings." As with all policies limiting personal freedom, they are drafted with a wink by legal staff, and are always "for the public good":
Let us hope a majority of elected government officials still value the words spoken by private citizens at public hearings. Even the words of a 15-year-old student contain acquired knowledge.
*NOTE: The author is a graduate of the LWHS Class of 1972. See also "County Limits Right to Question Developers" archived in Older Posts.
(c.) Davidsson. 2017.
The First Amendment of the U.S. Bill of Rights protects a citizen's entitlements of freedom of speech, peaceful assembly and the right to petition government for the redress of grievances - that is unless you are a 15-year-old Lake Worth High School (LWHS) student seeking to address the School Board during a televised public meeting.
Apparently, current School Board members have an aversion to confrontation at their meetings, and will go out of their way to prevent policy embarrassments in public, even if it limits the Constitutional rights of the citizens to whom they have a mission to serve.
Several LWHS students, unhappy with the dismissal and transfer of a beloved assistant principal at their school, decided to exercise their First Amendment rights by "pre-registering" as speakers before a Jan. 18 meeting of the School Board.*
School Board Policy 1.03 requires prior registration by public speakers by 12 p.m. on the day of a meeting. Speakers also are required by the policy to state the topics or agenda items they will address to administrative staff in advance.
One would think the School Board and its administration would have praised the civic-minded initiative demonstrated by the students in exercising our democratic principles. That was not the case. The 16th century Spanish Inquisition would have applauded of the School Board's reaction.
In a Feb. 19 front-page story, Palm Beach Post staff profiled the ordeal of a LWHS student named Miguel. (Since he is a minor, this article withholds his full name in the hope the School District will let him continue his education in peace and privacy.)
On the day of the School Board meeting, Miguel was called out of his class and told to report to the principal's office. In this intimidating setting, he was interrogated by the School District Regional Superintendent and an Assistant Regional Superintendent.
Miguel's interrogators questioned him about what he planned to say to the School Board. Then they tried to convince him not to speak, according to the LWHS student. To their credit, Miguel and three other students appeared before the board and tried to present their views.
However, intimidation by high-ranking School District administrative officials wasn't the only hurdle faced by the young scholars. Next they had to endure the wrath of the School Board chairman while making their presentation.
The School Board usually remains silent and taciturn during the "Comments by the Public" segment of the agenda. Miguel and his classmates faced interruptions by the chairman while making their prepared comments, and were warned not to mention the names of the LWHS principal and assistant principal under investigation by the School District.
Confronted by hostility by the School Board and staff, Miguel displayed nothing less than a profile in courage. The same can't be said for the School Board members who failed to come to his defense.
The School Board defends their policy by saying the district is trying to be proactive and resolve conflicts before they come to public hearings. However, several parents and students contacted by administrative staff in the past contend such "persuasion" is not always "friendly".
There is not a happy ending to Miguel's saga. Faced with a less than friendly campus atmosphere at LWHS, the student transferred to another school.
Censorship with a Smile
Ever since the beautiful Par-3 Forest Hill Golf Course was paved over by the School Board to build a confusing concrete labyrinth named Fulton-Holland Educational Services Center, this so-called "Taj Mahal" of education has housed a bureaucracy that is legendary to both teachers and parents for its glacial administrative power of inertia.
In such an environment, it is tempting for board members to pass along real educational concerns of students, teachers and parents for their administrative staff to handle, (then file and archive), instead of resolving issues head-on at public hearings.
There are few opportunities for the public to interact with their elected boards. Any roadblocks built by government officials to restrict this vital face-to-face feedback by citizens does the community a disservice.
Below are the politically correct "Top Five Local Rules to Limit Free Speech at Public Hearings." As with all policies limiting personal freedom, they are drafted with a wink by legal staff, and are always "for the public good":
- Civility Codes: Speech restrictions at public meetings drafted to prohibit offensive words and bad behavior. The City of West Palm Beach held two brainstorming sessions with citizens to define "civility". They failed. Civility remains in the eye of beholder. So is censorship.
- Time Limits: Most local government boards limit public comments to three minutes. Board chairmen have the power to reduce it to two minutes or less. By contrast, land developers, their attorneys and paid lobbyists have unlimited time to promote their projects at public hearings.
- 'No-Name' Rules: Policies established by some local governments to prohibit criticism of board members, staff or special interest lobbyists "by name" during public meetings.
- Cross-Examination Policy: At public hearings, citizens are not allowed to directly cross-examine special interest groups, their lobbyists or government staff. They must submit questions in writing. County legal staff and board chairmen then have the option of editing or disregarding the written public queries.
- Pre-registration: Some local councils do not allow the public to comment on issues before the board unless requests to speak are submitted in writing before the start of the meeting. Citizens are banned from speaking at "workshop" sessions by many local boards.
Let us hope a majority of elected government officials still value the words spoken by private citizens at public hearings. Even the words of a 15-year-old student contain acquired knowledge.
*NOTE: The author is a graduate of the LWHS Class of 1972. See also "County Limits Right to Question Developers" archived in Older Posts.
(c.) Davidsson. 2017.
Sunday, January 1, 2017
Urgent Care Needed to Cure Plague of Sober Homes
The Palm Beaches are known worldwide as a popular destination for presidential candidates by the dozen, invasive species by the score, winter tourists by the million, and recently for the uncontrolled influx of "Sober Homes".
From Boca Raton to West Palm Beach and extending westward to Wellington, desperate homeowners in local neighborhoods are seeking relief from the concentration of alcohol and drug abuse recovery residential living facilities in their communities.
Sober Living Houses (SLH), commonly called Sober Homes, are defined as alcohol and drug-free group living environments for individuals attempting to maintain abstinence from addictive substances and medications.
Sober Homes are not licensed as medical treatment centers, but do provide, in a best case scenario, supervised residential and counseling services for patients in recovery.
There are profits to be made in the operation of Sober Homes. Insurance policies, including coverage under the Affordable Care Act, provide payments to the private sector and not-for-profit organizations that operate Sober Homes while recovering addicts receive treatment.
Palm Beach County is the destination of choice for Sober Home sponsors for the same reasons the county is a magnet for tourists, retirees and new residents. The Palm Beaches offer a desirable climate and environment, low tax rates, high-quality hospitals and medical services, and compliant zoning that allows Sober Homes.
Sober Homes are unregulated in Florida, so no one knows for sure how many of the group residential facilities are located in Palm Beach County. Of the 236 rehab residences that "voluntarily" registered with the Florida Association of Recovery Residences, 118 were in the Palm Beaches as of 2016.
Delray Beach Mayor Cary Glickstein recently estimated hundreds of Sober Homes are located in his city alone. As of December 2016, the City of West Palm Beach staff were aware of 75 Sober Homes operating within its city limits. The total continues to increase.
Palm Beach County, like most of the nation, is facing a serious opioid (heroin, morphine) epidemic. In October 2016, a total of 88 heroin overdose cases were reported - 11 were fatal.
Misuse of heroin, morphine and fentanyl caused 2,337 deaths in Florida in 2015, according to medical examiner reports. Palm Beach County health officials reported 215 heroin deaths the same year.
The growing death toll supports the need for Sober Homes. The main complaint of neighbors and local officials is lack of accountability and supervision of residents in the recovery programs. Recovering addicts removed from Sober Homes for rule violations, or lack of insurance payments, are not automatically returned to their home cities or country.
Medical records are not public, so no one knows how many addicts drop out of local treatment programs, nor do we know how many remain in Palm Beach County. Lack of information makes it difficult to address and resolve Sober Home issues.
What we do know is the heroin epidemic is becoming a burden for local taxpayers, for law enforcement officers responding to complaints, and for both hospital emergency rooms and medical first responders on the front line of the crisis.
In 2007, the City of Boca Raton attempted to prohibit Sober Homes from operating within single-family neighborhoods. The city went to court and lost its case, costing the Boca Raton taxpayers $1.3 million in legal fees.
The costly defeat served as a chilling warning for other cities considering similar regulations to limit concentrations of Sober Homes. Local officials petitioned their Congressional delegation for relief from the federal government.
Time to Enact New DOJ-HUD Guidelines
On Nov. 10, 2016, U.S. Rep. Lois Frankel's office released the new "Department of Justice and Housing and Urban Development Joint Statement" providing guidance "to help our neighborhoods health and integrity."
Persons receiving treatment for drug addiction, considered a disability, are protected by the Fair Housing Act and Americans with Disabilities Act. The DOJ-HUD guidelines offer three means of relieving the burden of Sober Homes on local government and communities. In summary, the relief measures state:
* Cities may deny group homes that impose "undue" financial and administrative burdens or fundamentally alter existing city zoning.
* Cities may establish licensing programs for group homes for health or safety reasons.
* The Fair Housing Act does not prevent state or local governments from taking action in response to criminal activity, insurance and medical fraud, negligence or abuse of residents or other illegal conduct.
With these new instructions, it is now up to local and state governments to enact regulations designed to assist hard-pressed residential neighborhoods. The problem is real. The need is great, and action is long overdue.
(c.) Davidsson. 2017
Note: See additional articles below and archived in Older Posts.
From Boca Raton to West Palm Beach and extending westward to Wellington, desperate homeowners in local neighborhoods are seeking relief from the concentration of alcohol and drug abuse recovery residential living facilities in their communities.
Sober Living Houses (SLH), commonly called Sober Homes, are defined as alcohol and drug-free group living environments for individuals attempting to maintain abstinence from addictive substances and medications.
Sober Homes are not licensed as medical treatment centers, but do provide, in a best case scenario, supervised residential and counseling services for patients in recovery.
There are profits to be made in the operation of Sober Homes. Insurance policies, including coverage under the Affordable Care Act, provide payments to the private sector and not-for-profit organizations that operate Sober Homes while recovering addicts receive treatment.
Palm Beach County is the destination of choice for Sober Home sponsors for the same reasons the county is a magnet for tourists, retirees and new residents. The Palm Beaches offer a desirable climate and environment, low tax rates, high-quality hospitals and medical services, and compliant zoning that allows Sober Homes.
Sober Homes are unregulated in Florida, so no one knows for sure how many of the group residential facilities are located in Palm Beach County. Of the 236 rehab residences that "voluntarily" registered with the Florida Association of Recovery Residences, 118 were in the Palm Beaches as of 2016.
Delray Beach Mayor Cary Glickstein recently estimated hundreds of Sober Homes are located in his city alone. As of December 2016, the City of West Palm Beach staff were aware of 75 Sober Homes operating within its city limits. The total continues to increase.
Palm Beach County, like most of the nation, is facing a serious opioid (heroin, morphine) epidemic. In October 2016, a total of 88 heroin overdose cases were reported - 11 were fatal.
Misuse of heroin, morphine and fentanyl caused 2,337 deaths in Florida in 2015, according to medical examiner reports. Palm Beach County health officials reported 215 heroin deaths the same year.
The growing death toll supports the need for Sober Homes. The main complaint of neighbors and local officials is lack of accountability and supervision of residents in the recovery programs. Recovering addicts removed from Sober Homes for rule violations, or lack of insurance payments, are not automatically returned to their home cities or country.
Medical records are not public, so no one knows how many addicts drop out of local treatment programs, nor do we know how many remain in Palm Beach County. Lack of information makes it difficult to address and resolve Sober Home issues.
What we do know is the heroin epidemic is becoming a burden for local taxpayers, for law enforcement officers responding to complaints, and for both hospital emergency rooms and medical first responders on the front line of the crisis.
In 2007, the City of Boca Raton attempted to prohibit Sober Homes from operating within single-family neighborhoods. The city went to court and lost its case, costing the Boca Raton taxpayers $1.3 million in legal fees.
The costly defeat served as a chilling warning for other cities considering similar regulations to limit concentrations of Sober Homes. Local officials petitioned their Congressional delegation for relief from the federal government.
Time to Enact New DOJ-HUD Guidelines
On Nov. 10, 2016, U.S. Rep. Lois Frankel's office released the new "Department of Justice and Housing and Urban Development Joint Statement" providing guidance "to help our neighborhoods health and integrity."
Persons receiving treatment for drug addiction, considered a disability, are protected by the Fair Housing Act and Americans with Disabilities Act. The DOJ-HUD guidelines offer three means of relieving the burden of Sober Homes on local government and communities. In summary, the relief measures state:
* Cities may deny group homes that impose "undue" financial and administrative burdens or fundamentally alter existing city zoning.
* Cities may establish licensing programs for group homes for health or safety reasons.
* The Fair Housing Act does not prevent state or local governments from taking action in response to criminal activity, insurance and medical fraud, negligence or abuse of residents or other illegal conduct.
With these new instructions, it is now up to local and state governments to enact regulations designed to assist hard-pressed residential neighborhoods. The problem is real. The need is great, and action is long overdue.
(c.) Davidsson. 2017
Note: See additional articles below and archived in Older Posts.
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