Helpful or ‘inhumane?’ One Florida city’s app lets people report ‘homeless concerns’

FORT LAUDERDALE — Alongside pothole repair requests and complaints about flooded streets, Fort Lauderdale residents can now report homelessness in their communities through the city app FixIt FTL, which is typically used for nonemergency events. The city is using the new app function in response to a state law that will soon prohibit unauthorized camping on public property, according to Chris Cooper, acting assistant city manager. The legislation, House Bill 1365, prohibits municipalities from allowing people to sleep or camp in public places, such as parks or the beach. At an Aug. 20 City Commission conference, Cooper said the app was the best way for the city to track homelessness and be transparent about the issue in the wake of the new state law while allowing city employees to respond to requests.

Residents can use the app or the web-based portal to report a “homeless concern,” including the precise location and even a photo. “It gives us an opportunity to respond, especially if somebody is on public property, whether it is a sidewalk, city park, a right of way or something of that nature,” Cooper told the Miami Herald. “We need to be able to identify that individual so that we can primarily and ho...