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Ft. Lauderdale fights against homeless hate crimes

by Bailey Eva Riley

This year has been a busy one for the homeless of Southern Florida and their advocates; some of them even spending just about as much time at City Hall as the city commissioners themselves. Since the beginning of the year the city has made triumphant efforts to curb several basic human behaviors of houseless folk by deeming them illegal. As if the houseless have ever been granted any real representation or rights, now the Downtown Development Authority (DDA) of Ft. Lauderdale has outlined a plan to “establish, maintain and preserve aesthetic values and preserve and foster the development and display of attractiveness.” The DDA doesn’t seem to acknowledge the consequences of these laws, and in fact, it seems difficult for them to really comprehend how dehumanizing they are. These efforts make one think that the city of Ft. Lauderdale and the DDA have an inability to recognize the worth in anything beyond its material value.

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