This free bus brings Fort Lauderdale’s homeless to resources they need

Most people take transportation for granted. It’s pretty simple to hop in a car, Uber, train or bus to get from point A to point B. But for homeless people in South Florida, the task is daunting.

Dozens of organizations in Fort Lauderdale offer services and resources — food, shelter, medical care, job training, clothing — to the city’s homeless population. But none offered a solution to a fundamental problem: free, safe and welcoming transportation to get there.

That changes on Monday. The Rotary Club of Fort Lauderdale, a community service organization, will launch the Rotary Connection, a first-of-its-kind free shuttle bus that drives homeless individuals on a route that stops at charities, government buildings, medical centers, churches and other institutions. The first ride starts at 7 a.m. at the Broward County Main Library at 100 South Andrews Ave. in Fort Lauderdale. The bus runs Monday through Friday.

“The project offers so much more than just transportation. Social services aid them, help them maintain their dignity as they seek safer and more fulfilling lives,” said Jeff Shaffner, the Rotary Club of Fort Lauderdale president, at the bus launch event on Friday. “It connects people with resources many of us take for granted, and that in itself can be life changing.”

Rick Riccardi, the Board Chairman and founder of Fellowship Recovery Community Organization, came up with the idea for the bus about a year and a half ago when he was president of the Rotary Club of Fort Lauderdale. The project secured funding from the Florida Blue Foundation, which gifted $20,000, and local nonprofits Changing Lives of Boca Raton and Go Therefore to purchase, repair, insure and beautify the bus.

“I know the need for the homeless to get places. Transportation is a big problem for them because they have no money, obviously,” Riccardi told the Herald. “They can get bus passes, but even getting a bus pass, you have to go someplace to get it. So with all the wonderful services we have here in Broward County, some of them are totally unutilized or unaware of the homeless people because they’ve never been there and they don’t know how to get there.”

Pastor Ralph Giachetti, the CEO and president of Go Therefore, a Christian nonprofit, found the used bus on sale for $15,000. He said the bus service is a way to pay it forward to people who are struggling.

“But for the grace of God, there go I,” he said. “We all have a story. A lot of us are living one paycheck from being unhoused ourselves. If we have the means to help somebody else with a hand up, we should be doing it.”

Welcoming by design

Stops on the Rotary Connection route include several clinics, SunServe in Wilton Manors, LifeNet in Lauderhill, Mission United on Andrews Avenue, Henderson Behavioral Health in Lauderdale Lakes, Legal Aid in Plantation and Mount Olive Baptist Church in Fort Lauderdale.

The project is starting out with one bus that can seat 14 people. Individuals can only get on the bus so long as they tell the bus driver exactly where they’re going. There will be volunteer staff, consisting of people who have been homeless in the past, on the bus at all times trained in communication and de-escalation. As the bus begins to make its rounds, Riccardi said staff will be able to collect data on what the homeless population needs and feedback on how to improve.

There will be no police presence or armed security guard on the bus to ensure the riders don’t feel at risk of getting arrested, Riccardi said. Florida’s homeless population is weary of getting arrested by law enforcement after a state law made it illegal to sleep in public, though Broward County Sheriff Greg Tony has said he would not put homeless people in jail.

“If there’s a cop standing there with a gun, they’re not coming near the bus,” Riccardi said. “The security has got to be very subtle, somebody who’s been homeless, understands what’s going on, can talk in a way to make people feel comfortable.”

The bus is welcoming by design. The interior is air conditioned, the seats are plush and the outside of the bus is brightly colored.

The Rotary Club held an art contest for local high school and college students to submit designs for the wrap of the bus. The winning submission by Sam Danzig, an 18-year-old senior at American Heritage Schools, features bright teal, yellow and orange waves circling the white bus. Danzig said he choose to make the logos of local nonprofits prominent on the side of the bus so that homeless individuals recognize them and know they’re in a safe vehicle. The Rotary Connection is “a lighthouse for hope,” he said.

“The homeless community of Fort Lauderdale is a marginalized group of people that have faced nothing but fear and intimidation from our city, and what we need to do is be as welcoming as possible, which is why I made this bus the way I did,” Danzig said.

Addressing homelessness is an issue close to Danzig’s heart. Raised by a mother who was in the foster care system, Danzig said community service has always been a part of his life. While volunteering at HOPE South Florida, a Fort Lauderdale nonprofit, Danzig said he saw firsthand how important reliable transportation is when someone is seeking help. After getting his driver's license, Danzig started driving people around on the weekends and raising money to help pay for Ubers.

A project like Rotary Connection fills a serious gap in services, he said.

“This bus should have happened a really, really long time ago,” he said. “And honestly, I can wholeheartedly say this is the biggest step in the right direction in a very long time.”

This story was originally published August 2, 2025 at 4:30 AM.