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Tampa leaves homeless in cold as city parties for Super Bowl

Police aren’t pushing people off downtown streets, but there have been no plans for assistance or temporary shelters, either.
 
Homeless advocate David Tyler pulls up in his pickup truck to deliver blankets, sweatpants and Little Debbie Oatmeal Cream Pies to homeless people sleeping along North Franklin Avenue, within sight of the downtown Super Bowl celebrations.
Homeless advocate David Tyler pulls up in his pickup truck to deliver blankets, sweatpants and Little Debbie Oatmeal Cream Pies to homeless people sleeping along North Franklin Avenue, within sight of the downtown Super Bowl celebrations. [ ANASTASIA DAWSON | Times ]
Published Feb. 5, 2021|Updated Feb. 5, 2021

Tampa’s mild, breezy nights took a sudden turn towards cold and bitter as Big Mike lay down in his usual spot Tuesday night on the sidewalk along North Franklin Street.

The winds weren’t too bad because they were blocked by the friends and strangers lying in a row beside him, tucked in like children in a boarding school dormitory.

Mike, 54, said he can’t remember how long he’s lived on the streets downtown.

It’s been long enough for him to grow accustomed to sleeping on concrete, even in the cold and with the noise of Super Bowl 55 revelers just a few blocks away. And it’s been long enough for him to give up on getting a spot inside one of Tampa’s homeless shelters.

Mike, who declined to give his last name, has never worried about sleeping outside — until recently, that is, when people on the street started spreading the rumor that police would load the homeless into buses so they could clear downtown for the big game.

“They’re just embarrassed of us is all,” Mike said, rolling over to go back to sleep.

Rumor is all it is, city officials insist. There are no buses and there are no orders to crack down on the homeless, said spokeswoman Ashley Bauman.

In Miami last year, the National Football League and the local host committee contributed $100,000 to provide temporary shelter to dozens of homeless people moved out of downtown’s Bayfront Park, the heart of Super Bowl 54 festivities. The money only came through after advocates for the homeless sounded the alarm.

Few if any homeless people sleep in the venues where Tampa is throwing its downtown parties. No contribution was made here for any temporary shelter.

“I’ve been hearing that the police are pushing people out of the city, like they want you to sleep by the interstate, but who knows, man,” said a friend of Mike’s, who gave his name as Kenny G. “The police still come by and wake us up each morning at 10 a.m. They don’t give you coffee and donuts, but they don’t take you to jail, either.”

A hands-off approach may count as progress considering how the homeless have been treated downtown in recent years, especially during national events.

In 2019, homeless advocates raised objections when all 43 park benches in Lykes Gaslight Square Park were removed just before the NCAA Women’s Final Four tournament at nearby Amalie Arena. Homeless people used the seats to rest and the advocacy group Food Not Bombs served free meals there.

At the time, Bauman said the benches were removed to be refurbished or replaced, but that never happened.

Around the same time, power was cut off from some outdoor electrical outlets where the homeless would charge their phones or wheelchairs. Earlier, in January 2017, during the college football National Championship in Tampa, seven people — including members of Food Not Bombs — were arrested for feeding the homeless and needy in Lykes Gaslight Square.

The park is right outside City Hall and the Tampa Police Department.

In August 2011, police shut down church volunteers feeding the homeless in a city lot downtown near Interstate 275, and in 2004, they did the same at Herman Massey Park.

Many of those who sleep on downtown’s streets say they’re not here by choice. The city has long struggled to provide adequate housing and support for its most vulnerable population. The latest count puts the number of homeless in Tampa at 1,650.

One service available to some of them is a roof over their heads on cold nights. This week, the city and Hillsborough County opened emergency shelters, but the always scarce spots are even scarcer with the social distancing required under coronavirus prevention rules. And the longer the pandemic lasts, the more people seek out a spot on what they see as the safe stretch along Franklin Avenue.

Things are changing under Mayor Jane Castor, Bauman said. The Tampa Police Department employs homeless liaisons and the city has forged a strong working relationship with the Tampa Hillsborough Homeless Initiative.

“Mayor Castor has a mission to end street homelessness and we’re working with regional partners,” Bauman said. “TPD works with the homeless around the clock.”

Still, there’s plenty of need for people like David Tyler, executive director of the homeless advocacy group Forgotten Angels Florida. As the temperature dipped below 45 Tuesday night, and Mike gave up on sleeping, Tyler pulled up in his red pickup and unloaded blankets, sweatpants and Little Debbie Oatmeal Cream Pies.

It wasn’t much, but it was enough to make Mike smile and, in only a few more minutes, drift off to sleep. A couple of blocks away, Rivergate Tower loomed above the scene, this week a cylindrical movie screen for giant projections of Super Bowl imagery.

“I talk to guys who are war veterans,” Tyler said. “I give blankets out to more women and young children than I care to shake a stick at. It’s just embarrassing is what it is. The city should be embarrassed.”

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Tampa Bay Times Super Bowl 55 coverage

TIMELINE: How the Bucs and Tampa converged for Super Bowl 55

ATTENTION SUPER BOWL VISITORS: Here’s our guide to Tampa Bay’s socially distanced attractions

PARTY PLANNING IN A PANDEMIC: How to host a safe Super Bowl party

FANS IN TAMPA: A first look inside the Super Bowl Experience in Tampa

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