‘It could have been me’: Hundreds of homeless people died on Miami-Dade streets this year
The names and ages were read aloud, solemnly, one by one.
“Julio Martinez, 64.”
“Kassandra Davis, 34.”
“Katana Rodriguez-Garrick, 1.”
A silence as brief as it was stifling enveloped the three dozen or so people who joined the Miami-Dade County Homeless Trust in remembering the 197 homeless individuals who died this year, eight more than in 2023. The deceased, all of whom died while living on the streets, ranged in age from 1 to 83.
For Pauline Clark-Trotman of the Homeless and Formerly Homeless Forum, one of the event’s organizers, the memorial is one of the most important events of the year. As a community liaison for the Forum, which advises the Trust on issues that the homeless and formerly homeless face, the event was personal for Clark-Trotman, as it was for many of her colleagues.
“As a formerly homeless individual,” she said, “I could’ve been one of those names on that poster board.”
Even one death is too many, Clark-Trotman said to the crowd, her voice cracking as she spoke.
Homeless Trust Chairman Ron Book agreed. Next year, he vowed, there will be fewer losses to commemorate.
The vigil came at a challenging moment for the county in its efforts to eliminate homelessness. Passed earlier this year, a new Florida law, HB 1365, outlaws public camping. Starting in January, residents will be empowered to sue their local governments for not enforcing the ban.
Municipalities across the state are scrambling to get their homeless populations off the streets. Failing to do so risks costly lawsuits. The homeless, meanwhile, could face arrest.
“HB 1365 has us on our toes,” said Vicki Mallette, the Homeless Trust’s executive director.
The county faces headwinds as the new year approaches. A major reduction in emergency shelter beds at one of the county’s largest homeless shelters, Camillus House, meant the county had to race to build back its bed stocks.
Even still, Book is confident that the end of homelessness in Miami-Dade is near. “It’s in sight,” he said. “We see it.”
Referencing a number of housing projects that will soon come online, Book justified his optimism at the Trust’s final board meeting of the year, which took place just before the vigil.
A navigation center capable of housing 80 people will open early next year in Gladeview. A thrift store in a previous life, the center will host people experiencing homelessness for short stays of two weeks or less before directing them to longer-term shelter or housing options.
Farther south in Cutler Bay, the Trust is expected to close on a hotel “by January 10,” said Book. Residents will begin to move in almost immediately. Named “Hidden Bay,” the complex, formerly a La Quinta, will provide housing to 130 low-income seniors.
Those initiatives, coupled with a slew of tiny homes, 45 beds stood up by a church in Riverside, and an Overtown complex that will house 20 women and children, aim to free up bed space in the county’s network of shelters for the 1,000 people who still sleep on the streets of Miami-Dade each night.
Those are the people the Trust hopes to not have to memorialize this time next year. But if they do, Anita Martin will be there.
Now 15 years housed and sober, Martin, 60, recalled the two decades she spent living on the streets of Miami, battling a crack cocaine addiction. That experience is why she comes to the event every year — so that those who weren’t as lucky aren’t forgotten.
Martin watched as four ceremonial doves were released. Her eyes followed the birds as they climbed above the treeline and broke north up Second Street, until they eventually disappeared behind the towering buildings of downtown.
As a lone guitarist closed the event with a rendition of “Lean on Me,” Martin’s eyes welled with tears.
She repeated the day’s refrain: “It could have been me.”
This story was produced with financial support from supporters including The Green Family Foundation Trust and Ken O’Keefe, in partnership with Journalism Funding Partners. The Miami Herald maintains full editorial control of this work.
