in case you didn't know, there is an area on 301 past Coleman & Bushnell. this community is VERY, VERY poor, & i imagine, desperate. the new churches in our area help everyone, so is it possible these transient non-village folk are on their way to visit a church or outreach center? if so, do we then tell churches they must restrict their congregations, or accept only approved villagers as members? tough question to consider.

Write a "Letter to the Editor" on the Daily Sun - They do NOT like negativity - it might stir up some corrective activity.

Well, I can't speak for churches but several years ago the state of NM built a welfare office a couple blocks down the street from my business. Of course I had to pay for a two block long sidewalk so the deadbeats could walk past my business on their way from the bus stop to the welfare office. The day the welfare office opened the problems started. Now druggie, alcoholic, criminal worthless bums are crawling all over the neighborhood. If one parks in the neighborhood Walmart lot across the street from my business one gets aggressively panhandled by a plethora of bums while going from their vehicle into the store and back. Off duty police are stationed in the lot to walk vulnerable people to and from their cars but purses still get snatched and worse.

GREAT suggestion.

Oh my. I had driven countless times on Rolling Acres Road and have never seen any sign of a homeless camp.

You want the developer to become an arm of law enforcement?

I'm with you. I don't give a ****** where they go. Just not here in The Villages. Get them out of there!!!!!!

No but they need to do what ever it takes for the proper enforcement to be done. The developer knows people in high places. They can get it done if they want to.

I don't either. But you haven't proposed an answer to the one and only question I'm asking. Seems many of you agree with me - we don't want homeless people in our neighborhoods. That's great!! We agree! Amazing.

Now for the question - again.

When the police kick them out, where will they GO? On foot - without money to pay for bus fair or an uber.

Come up with a solution. Everyone already knows the problem.

If you don't care where they go, then I'll suggest to them that there's a lovely lanai they can sleep on, at your house.

What's that? You don't want them at your house? Okay - the next door neighbor. Or across the street. Or at the other end of your neighborhood. Or behind your rec center. As long as it's not "wherever they are at the moment" you don't care. So I'll not care either. As long as YOU don't live in MY neighborhood, the homeless can go ahead and live in YOUR neighborhood. There. Problem solved.

They have to go somewhere, and they don't have cars.

Looks like they could go to NYC.

I was watching the news this morning and saw the shelter that New York City is building for illegal immigrants. Looked pretty nice - three meals a day, a fancy popcorn machine, big screen tvs, free telephones, and the city gives them “Fluff & Fold” laundry service. I would think once word gets out that illegals can get these benefits, we may get a lot of people coming across the southern border.

Pinellas county sheriffs would drive them to Pasco county and let them know they were not welcome. Back in 2013.

The problem is that we have shelters for the homeless but many of them don’t want to go the shelters. And apparently, the government can’t force them to go to shelters because the homeless have rights.

If we had hungry people and they refused to go to food banks, what else can society do to feed them?

So I don’t know how to solve the problem. Maybe someone here has an idea.

answer: away.

1st, the powers that be here, must realize this is a massively growing problem, not just here, but literally everywhere.
"The bubble" is not and will not be immune.
I can, (as others here probably can as well) tell you from my 1st hand experience living near Seattle and as a former LEO, just how badly this problem can explode when decisive, corrective & preventative action is not taken. The passive approach will not work. It never has.

This apparent lack of a preemptive plan &/or preventative action, leaves us - as a community - very ill prepared. This is not good.

I can say this much, (again):
There is clearly a breech/means of access on the far south end of the villages.
The perimeter fence that borders the turnpike and the many sections of golf courses in this area, is a complete joke and stops no one.
I am personally seeing too many transient types on foot, directly coming from that area - for it to just be random.
If they set root here, and word gets out among them (& it will) their numbers will grow substantially, so will random crime, a reduce feeling of safety and a whole host of other related unpleasantries.
It will take much more effort to correct it then...
This needs to get nipped in the bud ASAP.