ST. PETERSBURG, Florida — Today, the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), on behalf of Progressive People’s Action (PPA), filed a motion to intervene in Whaley v. St. Petersburg. This lawsuit was filed by Ronnica Whaley, the owner of a restaurant in downtown St. Petersburg. In her lawsuit, Whaley requests that the court order the City of St. Petersburg to prohibit or remove individuals sleeping in public spaces in the city. PPA is moving to intervene in the lawsuit because its core mission is to provide mutual aid to individuals experiencing homelessness or poverty in and around St. Petersburg, and PPA recognizes that collective liberation is dependent on the freedom of all, including those experiencing poverty and homelessness.
In 2024, the Florida Legislature enacted House Bill 1365, codified at § 125.0231, Fla. Stat. (2024), titled “Unauthorized Public Camping and Public Sleeping.” The statute mandates: “A county or municipality may not authorize public camping or sleeping on any public property.” It went into effect on Oct. 1, 2024, and the City of St. Petersburg adopted its own ordinance in November 2024 to comply with the state law. St. Petersburg has a policy of enforcing its ordinance, along with other city ordinances that prohibit public sleeping or camping.
“Homelessness is not a crime, yet Whaley seeks a cruel interpretation of Florida’s public camping statute by demanding the court jail or banish people experiencing homelessness from public space,” said Jacqueline Azis, senior staff attorney at the SPLC. “Housing and services end homelessness, not handcuffs. Law enforcement will not end homelessness. It requires empathy and political courage to invest in people and build affordable housing. We can create communities where no one is left behind simply because they cannot afford to keep a roof over their head. Housing should always be treated as a basic human right, not a privilege.”
“Progressive People’s Action stands in full solidarity with our unhoused neighbors and friends. An attack on one of us is an attack on all of us,” said PPA representative Yaakov “Jake” Geffon. “PPA and the People of St. Petersburg will not stay silent in the face of these cruel and inhumane attacks on our fellow community members. People experiencing homelessness are no less part of the community than anyone else, and they do not deserve to be ostracized or punished for their conditions. No one deserves to be punished for doing what all people must do to survive: sleep. Everyone deserves dignity and housing, regardless of their circumstances. We protect us.”
In the motion to intervene, the SPLC requests that the court allow PPA to intervene to represent the interests and constitutional rights of St. Petersburg residents who are experiencing homelessness and are forced to sleep outside because they lack viable, alternative options. The motion argues that appropriate relief from the court does not include subjecting people experiencing homelessness in St. Petersburg to the enforcement of punitive measures for simply sleeping — a basic human necessity essential for survival. Instead, the motion suggests that, under state law, the reasonable way to ensure that people are not regularly publicly camping or sleeping is to provide adequate alternatives to sleeping outdoors by offering housing and other related services.
According to the 2025 Point in Time Count for Pinellas County, there are 1,863 individuals experiencing homelessness in the county, but only space for 1,325 individuals in the county’s shelters. Of the 1,863 individuals experiencing homelessness — which include hundreds of military veterans and survivors of domestic abuse — 38% are Black, even though Black residents make up only 11% of Pinellas County’s population.
Click here to read the motion.
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About the Southern Poverty Law Center
The Southern Poverty Law Center is a catalyst for racial justice in the South and beyond, working in partnership with communities to dismantle white supremacy, strengthen intersectional movements and advance the human rights of all people. For more information, visit www.splcenter.org.