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Punta Gorda has been operating a trailer park near its
municipal jail with 500 trailers. The primary occupants are people who
had been housed in HUD low cost projects and Section 8 housing before
the storm (in their case it was Hurricane Charley in 2004). The experience has not been good
The park is
surrounded by chin link fence topped with barbed wire. There were
originally two entrances but one has been sealed and the remaining
entrance is manned by deputies. (Why are thse people in jail?)
Crime has been a problem with drugs and domestic violence at the top of the list.
Many residents are unemployed as they were before the storm. Those that do have jobs often leave their children unattended.
Transit service is a problem.
There
is not enough green space or playgrounds or other accomodations for the
kids so the children rove the trailer park. The police chief is
reluctant to call these groups gangs, but the parallels are strong.
There are no nearby communities, but if there were, the police chief expects that the temptation would be irresistable.
A year after moving in, there still seems to be no exit plan.
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