Orlando mayor responds to protest

Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer is answering back after the Food Not Bombs protest outside of the UCF Student Union last Thursday, claiming that he has not been represented well in the media.

According to Dyer, the media has led the group and the public to believe that the city has banned homeless feedings in the city and insists that is false.

For more photos of the protest, view the gallery here.

"I am committed to extending help and opportunity to our homeless population," Dyer said.

At last count, 15 individuals have been arrested in Lake Eola Park for distributing food and feeding the homeless due to Dyer's fully-enforced food ordinance.

Under the ordinance, passed by City Council in 2006, groups are required to have a permit to hand out food to groups larger than 25 people in a downtown park and may only receive this permit twice per year.

The permits, which are free, must be acquired in advance to ensure the safety of citizens through appropriate crowd control and waste management measures.

The Orlando Sentinel reported Dyer using the phrase "food terrorists" in describing the organization's activities to push a political agenda.

"The fact that our city mayor called us food terrorists is ridiculous," said Dylan Howeller, a Valencia Community College student who was arrested last Monday. "It's stupid that we have to jump through hoops to help people. The solution would be to give us a place to do it."

During last week's protest, visitors of the UCF campus were informed of this growing dilemma in Orlando and have made an impression on whether they would like to attend school in a place with such an issue.

"Why's the mayor so mad?" Antonio Scott of West Palm Beach said. "If you have people willing to feed the hungry, why won't the mayor just let them do it?"

As far as the students and other members of Food Not Bombs, they believe that public parks should be used for "public needs."

"I don't know too much about the other organization that feed the homeless," senior physics major Mark Langhirt said. "This is a freedom of assembly issue."

In response to the arrests, Food Not Bombs has demanded that Dyer stop enforcing the ordinance, drop charges against those who were arrested, rescind issued trespass warnings and meet with the group to discuss hunger and poverty issues.

The Sentinel reported that Dyer is willing to talk and has "offered [Food Not Bombs] alternative sites to feed."

"There are a myriad of community service agencies in Downtown Orlando where the homeless can get meals everyday for breakfast, lunch and dinner," Dyer said.

On Sylvia Lane, for example, there is a designated area to set up feedings for the homeless, with tables, benches and security.

In addition to the daily meals, these community agencies provide counseling, job training, education and health care services.

Dyer's goal is to not only feed the homeless but end homelessness altogether, he said. The Central Florida Commission on Homelessness is working to establish Ten2End, a ten-year plan to end homelessness in Central Florida by addressing gaps in existing programs and identifying the practical steps necessary.

Since the formation of the CFCH, the Central Florida community has received an unprecedented amount of funding and resources dedicated toward homeless services in the Orlando area.

"Ending homelessness remains a top priority for the City of Orlando and the Central Florida region as we continue to work together to address homelessness with a holistic approach focused on housing, prevention, health care and supportive systems," Dyer said.