Editor’s note: What to do about the homeless has been a hot topic along the Emerald Coast in recent weeks. Fort Walton Beach is days away from requiring churches to apply for a permit to regulate their volunteer-run cold night shelters. Some community leaders also are considering finding a parcel of fenced-in land for a tent city.
Everyone has an opinion it seems, including those who live on the streets.
FORT WALTON BEACH — As the afternoon wears on, homeless men gather at the corner of U.S. Highway 98 and Perry Avenue, most holding cardboard signs.
Chris Hayes has stood on the corner since 7 a.m. with a sign reading “Homeless” in black marker.
“These people don't give an (expletive) about you,” Hayes says as he watches a line of cars pass by. “They may throw you a dollar and you’re lucky.”
By the afternoon he has enough for a beer. He plans to move to a different area, unsettled by other homeless people who have gathered. He doesn’t like having others too close.
“I’m just a lone wolf,” Hayes says.
Cold night shelters are great for a meal, but Hayes doesn’t like to spend the night. There are too many people.
A tent city, the latest idea to help ease the homeless problem, would give everyone some space, he says.
It also might give the homeless the opportunity for some work. People would know where to find cheap labor, Hayes says.
He came to Fort Walton Beach after Hurricane Ivan hit in 2004. There was plenty of work for him as a construction worker.
Between the lack of work and the seven felonies he’s accumulated living on the streets, finding work is impossible, Hayes says.
“This ain’t no life. I wouldn’t wish it on nobody.”
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After spending decades in Fort Walton Beach, “Sprite” Mike Wilson can’t contemplate leaving.
“This is my neighborhood,” Wilson says.
He has his spot at U.S. 98 and Perry. He says been called the “icon” of the city.
All of his friends are here.
“There is a camaraderie among people who are in this situation,” Wilson says. “They know what others are going through.”
Most homeless people stick up for each other and take care of each other. There are some who cause trouble, says Wilson, who adds that those are the ones who will ruin a proposed tent city.
He isn’t sure if local officials are knowledgeable enough on the organization and regulation needed for a campground.
If it was properly looked after it would be great for the homeless, Wilson says. It would give the homeless a set place to go.
“With the situation the way it is now because of the attention in Fort Walton Beach, we got to move constantly.”
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Sitting under the Brooks Bridge, several homeless men pass the time before Tuesday’s cold night shelter opens at Gregg Chapel AME Church.
“Tennessee” and “Firefighter Dan,” who both declined to use their real names, had heard about possible new regulations at local shelters. It’s hard for Dan, who says he was a volunteer firefighter for 19 years, to forget the importance of keeping the shelters organized in case of an emergency.
He and Tennessee also see the good they do for the homeless. Without them, many would be dead, Tennessee says.
After spending more than a year on the streets, Dan tries to direct the newly homeless to the churches and organizations that offer a bite to eat or a place to sleep.
“I don’t like to see anyone go hungry,” he says. “I don’t like to see anyone go cold.”
Those meals and services keep the two men in Fort Walton Beach.
“If you go hungry in Fort Walton Beach, it’s your own fault,” Tennessee says.
Contact Daily News Staff Writer Lauren Delgado at 850-315-4445 or ldelgado@nwfdailynews.com. Follow her on Twitter @LaurenDnwfdn.