MIAMI – County workers combed Miami International Airport on Wednesday to find and relocate people living there without permission.
The stabbing of a 17-year-old homeless girl last Saturday raised awareness of a struggle affecting the airport’s image, travelers’ comfort and a vulnerable population trying to blend in.
The Miami-Dade County Homeless Trust sent outreach teams to help.
“We are a community who cares about the least, the last, the lost and the forgotten and we will not sleep until we’ve got every single one of them sheltered and housed,” Ron Book, the trust’s chairman said.
Members of the trust offer services and shelter to people using the airport as a permanent shelter. The group approached 21 people known to live in the airport. However, only four accepted room at a shelter.
“You’re trespassing if you don’t,” Book said. “The goal is to make it clear: We need to move you to shelter. We need to get you to a better place.”
A vicious attack inside Terminal J led Book’s team to launch renewed, targeted outreach.
Alexander Love, 29, used a butcher knife to stab a teen 18 times in an unprovoked assault Saturday, Miami-Dade Police said. Both the attacker and victim called the airport home. Prior to the stabbing, members of the Trust offered services to Love, who moved to Miami from Ohio, Book said.
Outreach workers know about two dozen people who live in the airport, which violates a county ordinance that requires anyone staying overnight at MIA to have legitimate travel plans or business.
Airport staff, security and police connect anyone they find breaking the ordinance with help from the Homeless Trust before enforcing trespassing laws.
Members of the trust launched aggressive outreach Wednesday in response to the stabbing.
“Frankly, that is not the image we want for our airport number one,” Book said. “But number two, we want people to feel comfortable when they come to our airport, whether they’re travelers coming in or they’re our community citizens going out. Our job is to make people feel comfortable.”
Book said his team will return to the airport Thursday, Friday and beyond to convince anyone refusing to relocate to accept help.
