When her fiance died about a year ago, 61-year-old Judith Flarity started living out of a tent at Dignity Village, surrounded by thick trees and woodlands.
She couldn’t afford her rent alone, so she moved to the tent city, which lies just outside the fences of the Grace Marketplace homeless shelter.
But ever since the Gainesville City Commission voted earlier this month to limit the capacity at the village from 200 to 155, Flarity said residents have been displaced and crowded together.
Moreover, she said the problem that motivated the cap — the city identified 25 dead and unhealthy trees at risk of falling on residents — has yet to be solved.
“I’m almost 62 years old,” Flarity said. “I have a bad back and health problems. I can’t take care of the trees. (The government is) getting money to take care of it and they’re not.”
City spokesman Bob Woods said he is unsure how long it will take to fix the issue, either by trimming or felling the trees. Because of the amount of trees affected, he said the city will have to contract the job out to a private company.
Woods said the decision to reduce the capacity at the village was made before Hurricane Hermine made landfall, as a way to protect residents living in tents near the trees. And despite the decreased capacity, he said no residents have been displaced or asked to leave the village.
There have been accommodations made for new residents since the cap, based on data from the U.S. Census Bureau, has been in effect.
“There’s no nefarious plot to displace the homeless,” Woods said. “This is purely about residents’ safety.”
However, Flarity said since the commission voted to cap the resident capacity and move current residents away from the identified treeline, new Magnolia trees were recently planted near the front of the village.
“Like we need new, bigger trees,” she said. “The ones we have are falling down.”
Nina McNeal, a Dignity Village resident of three years, called into question the efficiency of the city’s work to get rid of the trees.
Although she said she is happy that the cap will reduce overcrowding and shorter wait times for showers and other basic services at the village, McNeal said the city should take into consideration the safety of the residents and make removing the trees a priority.
“We need more help out here and they’re not helping us,” she said. “What are we? Chopped liver?”
Theresa Lowe, the executive director of the Alachua County Coalition for the Homeless and Hungry, said similar to other government operations, getting rid of the trees and, thus, lifting the cap would take time.
But even at capacity, both the village and Grace Marketplace have tried to find space for new residents even if it’s just for a couple nights, she said. No one has been turned away yet, and she said she hopes it stays that way.
“We just want to keep everyone safe,” she said.
Mick Burnette, a Vietnam War veteran, smokes a cigarette before the rain begins to fall at Dignity Village on Sept. 1, 2016.
