This is one of those things I stumbled upon that I needed to check several sources to make sure it’s not a joke. Nope. It’s not. Miami has a plan to build a ‘homeless island’, a legit small town for people experiencing homelessness. Too stupid to be true? I thought so too.
So yes, as dumb as this sounds, they are absolutely serious. And if this sounds somewhat familiar, I’ll get to that in a minute. If the plan goes through, it calls for for the construction of 50 to 100 “tiny homes” on Virginia Key, an 863-acre barrier island off the coast. According to Newsnationow: “Commissioners are calling the idea a “transition zone” and the plan would provide housing, food, showers, and even outreach services for some of Miami’s homeless population.” “In my opinion, this is not an encampment that is going to be a concentration camp,” said Commissioner Manolo Reyes. “Nobody’s forcing anybody.”
Homeless Island would be remote
Although in sight of the city, the homeless island would be remote with no access to grocery stores or jobs. It’s 2 miles away from public transportation. Although the plan is to run electricity to the area, there’s no services or security and being an island off the coast of Miami – mosquitos are a BIG problem. And currently there’s an outdoor center on Virginia Key with a summer camp for kids. And the people who run the camp aren’t too keen on the idea. According to NBC Miami: “There is a petition going around to stop the city from building the homeless camp in the park. But the city says it’s moving forward with the pilot program. “