PINELLAS COUNTY, Fla. — City leaders are working to address homelessness in St. Pete. This comes after an unhoused person was run over by a garbage truck over the weekend.
Alfonso Hernandez works at a coffee shop in downtown St. Pete, just blocks away from where an unhoused woman was killed over the weekend.
"It's horrible because again, since I work around here, we have a few of them who come to the store…and at first I thought it was one of the regulars that come in, and that would have been horrible. It wasn’t someone I knew, but regardless, it’s a horrible thing," said Hernandez.
St. Pete Police said early Saturday morning, a garbage truck driver with the city was warned that several people were sleeping in an alley, before he ran over and killed 49-year-old Candice Roberts.
The driver was charged with leaving the scene of a crash involving death.
According to the most recent Point In Time Count, roughly 1,800 people are experiencing homelessness in Pinellas County.
People who work downtown said they see many unhoused people walking around and want to see more safe spaces available.
"I think in a perfect world, I think housing is the number one issue…and I think that’s an issue that everyone in Pinellas can agree with…that just housing is not enough," said Hernandez.
St. Pete City Councilman Corey Givens Jr. said leaders are investing in services for the unhoused population.
"It was something that could have been prevented, just making sure that woman had somewhere to go that night so that she wasn’t lying in the middle of an alley," said Givens Jr.
He said the City of St. Pete recently allocated hundreds of thousands of dollars to nonprofits through the city’s Social Action Funding Grants.
"Vouchers, maybe there is someone who needs a hotel voucher for the night… some of those resources are providing wrap-around services, so maybe you have someone who is unhoused, but needs rehabilitation services as well," said Givens Jr.
Givens Jr. said more partnerships between local government and organizations are needed to continue helping those in need.
Hernandez agrees.
"I think we have to start seeing these people as people, and not just whatever things that are outside," said Hernandez.
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