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Attackers who target the homeless will now face tougher penalities. Governor Charlie Crist signed HB11 into law on Tuesday, adding homeless people to the list of protected classes of people under the existing hate crimes law. It would bump up a crime against a homeless person by one degree. Florida will join Maryland, Maine and the District of Columbia in adding anti-homeless crime laws to their books. California and South Carolina are considering similar measures.
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It began with Lisa Linehan posting a "searching for" bulletin on the Coalition's website, pinellashomeless.org. Later, she mailed 16 letters and flyers to homeless shelters and mealsites across Pinellas County in a desperate attempt to find her father, Tim Merkel. She had not seen or spoken to him in six and a half years, during which time, unbeknownst to him, he became a grandfather.
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Horrified by a video of teens who went on a rampage beating homeless men in downtown Fort Lauderdale last summer, Rep. Ari Porth led the charge to push for including attacks on the homeless in the state's hate crimes law.
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The first Pinellas Smiles homeless dental clinic will be held on Saturday, May 1 at the Pinellas County Health Department, 205 Dr. Martin Luther King St. N., in St. Petersburg. This event is open to the first 150 people, and registration begins at 8:30 a.m. Attendees may gain access through the side door entrance facing Burlington Avenue.
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On April 20th, HUD released the proposed new definition of "homelessness," in accordance to a provision in the Homeless Emergency and Rapid Transition to Housing (HEARTH) Act. The new definition expands the current federal definition of "homeless" to include those persons who are at imminent risk of eviction and those living in motel rooms.
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