JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The Jacksonville Sheriffs Office's Blight Abatement Unit is on its way to make the city more beautiful by reducing trash produced by homeless camps in Downtown Jacksonville.
The unit recently did a sweep, but it's left many in the community concerned about the security of the belongings of the homeless.
Homeless people who reside in downtown Jacksonville say officers often give them the opportunity to gather their stuff and move on, but if belongings are left unattended and JSO's Blight Unit comes by, it'll all be thrown into a truck, and hauled off for disposal.
"When there's like a big event especially at the stadium there, everybody's got to go. Everybody's got to be out of sight. So, they sweep us all up," a homeless man nicknamed 'D2' tells First Coast News.
He goes by the nickname D2. It's what most people on the streets call him. D2 says he has been unemployed and homeless since he was released from jail a few years ago.
"It's like all your money gets sucked up and there's nothing left over. It's like, okay, I can't afford that much food this week, or I can't afford to get on the bus this week," the man said.
He stays on a lot between the Sulzbacher Center's Downtown location and the Duval County Jail. D2 says he doesn't mind being on the streets and understands the sheriff's office's initiative.
"If you're here, and they're polite, and you're polite, you've got time to get your stuff out. A lot of times it seems to me that they just want to pick up the garbage. It's not your belongings they want, it's trash," D2 said.
Others argue they've lost important belongings left unattended during sweeps of the area.
"There's some good people out there, you know that hit hard times. If they're not doing anything wrong, they shouldn't lose nothing," said Eugene Lewandowski, who lives in a shelter nearby.
First Coast News reached out to JSO about its initiative but are still waiting for a response to our questions from the unit’s commander.
Sulzbacher's Urban Rest Stop does have storage bins available to help keep belongings safe when people are at work or appointments and is available Monday through Friday.