I鈥檓 pretty sure I saw Robert Fernandez flying his sign on more than one occasion on the Interstate 55 off-ramp at Lindbergh Boulevard on my way to a baseball field in south 狐狸视频 County. It鈥檚 a busy intersection, sometimes full of commuters, or people jumping off the highway to grab a fresh Krispy Kreme doughnut, or, as I was, heading to the ballfields at Affton Athletic Association.
Fernandez, who doesn鈥檛 have a regular roof over his head, has often stood there, asking drivers for money. 鈥淎nything helps,鈥 says one of his cardboard signs, used as evidence in a federal court case. 鈥淕od bless.鈥 People have complained over the years, including some who were driving to baseball games. So says the order issued this week by U.S. District Court Judge Stephen N. Limbaugh Jr., in which Limbaugh awarded Fernandez $150,000, plus attorney鈥檚 fees, and tossed as unconstitutional the county鈥檚 anti-panhandling laws.
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Complaints left by callers to the 狐狸视频 County Police Department were included as part of the county鈥檚 defense of its ordinances. Limbaugh saw value in exposing them in his order ruling in Fernandez鈥 favor.
鈥淭hese complaints include that plaintiff was 鈥榖locking up traffic, taking people鈥檚 money鈥; that he is 鈥榓lways there鈥 and 鈥榞oes in and out of traffic when the light鈥檚 red鈥; that the same 鈥楳exican or black, whatever he is鈥 beggar was there again; that it is 鈥榙isturbing to live in 狐狸视频 County 鈥 and have beggars at the damn intersection鈥; and that 鈥榠t鈥檚 bad enough I can鈥檛 even take my kids, you know, to a baseball game in the city 鈥 because of all the homeless beggars 鈥 I鈥檒l be damned if they鈥檙e going to start invading 狐狸视频 County.鈥
Some 狐狸视频 County residents, it seems, are unaware that there are unhoused people living all around us. While those of us who live or work downtown (or did pre-pandemic) tend to see such folks more than most 鈥 because of the concentration of services available in the city 鈥 there are people in need of housing who live in all parts of 狐狸视频 County.
The annual 鈥減oint-in-time鈥 count in 2020 identified 479 such people in the county, says Yusef Scoggin, with about 30 of them unsheltered, living on the streets. Scoggin is the county鈥檚 director of family and community services and is the co-chairman of the , which helps coordinate services among government and nonprofit agencies in the region.
He fears that post-pandemic, the problem of homelessness could grow worse in 狐狸视频. An explosion of eviction cases is expected once various moratoriums end and federal aid dries up, and with additional federal unemployment benefits already being cut by Gov. Mike Parson.
鈥淚t keeps me up at night,鈥 Scoggin says. 鈥淲e won鈥檛 know the damage until the water recedes.鈥
In too many jurisdictions, and not just 狐狸视频 County, the reaction to a new batch of homelessness has been to pass the laws that have now been tossed by the court.
Cities and counties across the country have such laws, passed decades ago to keep 鈥渧agrants鈥 out, and, mostly, they鈥檙e unconstitutional, says Bevis Schock, who is Fernandez鈥檚 attorney. 鈥淭here鈥檚 not much you can do to make them constitutional,鈥 Schock says.
To the extent 狐狸视频 County, or any other government, is truly worried about traffic safety, something cities and counties have a legitimate interest in, then the sorts of laws that limit people from stepping off medians and weaving in and out of moving cars, should be narrowly focused, Schock says.
Schock, by the way, defends the right of the folks who complained about his client to do so. He鈥檚 a libertarian by nature. 鈥淭hose people have First Amendment rights, too,鈥 he says. But county residents should be aware that the simple reality is there is homelessness all around us. These are our neighbors, and they find themselves on the street for a variety of reasons. Passing laws that try to make their very existence illegal is not a solution worth pursuing.
鈥淗omelessness is never going to go away,鈥 Schock says. 鈥淭his is something we will continue to deal with, and our children and our grandchildren, after us.鈥