700 People Join Julian Pim In Mass Hunger Strike 

You might have heard about Arnold Abbott the 90-year-old World War II veteran. Abbott has been feeding Broward County’s homeless on the beach every Wednesday for nearly 20 years. He has stood firm against the City of Fort Lauderdale like he did to the Nazis in World War II.

Last month, Fort Lauderdale made it a crime to give the homeless food. That’s right. If you give a homeless person your left over doggy bag you face a $500 fine from the City of Fort Lauderdale. You could also face 60 days in the Broward County jail.

This law has not stopped Mr. Abbott. Abbott has been an advocate for the homeless since the late 1980s. He has been cited three times by the City of Fort Lauderdale since the law went into effect on October 31st.

The city passed the law in an attempt to chase the homeless off Fort Lauderdale beaches. City leaders also see it as part of a long-term goal of chasing them permanently out of Fort Lauderdale.

Abbott has refused to honor the city’s request to move the food station indoors. He claims that it won’t solve the homeless problem in Fort Lauderdale or even Broward County.

Abbott also has a point. You can’t solve the homeless epidemic in South Florida by moving it indoors away from the tourists. The problem is too big.

On a daily basis, you see homeless veterans on every street corner panhandling for food or money in both Broward and Palm Beach Counties.

Activists Begin A Hunger Strike

Jillian Pim Hunger Striking in Protest of Ft. Lauderdale Homeless Feeding Laws from Voice Media Group on Vimeo.

On October 31st, Food Not Bombs member Jullian Pim joined the Abbott’s cause by announcing she was going on a hunger strike to protest what she calls, “Homeless Hate Laws”

Pim who hasn’t eaten solid food in two weeks and who’s diet consists of lemon water and salt, told South Florida New Times, “If I starve and it actually changes something, it’ll keep all these other people from potentially starving,”

Since Pim started her hunger strike two weeks ago, nearly 700 people have joined her.