April Hunt | [Orlando] Sentinel Staff Writer
published June 28, 2006

Brian Nichols was asleep on the ground between some bushes and a downtown Orlando office when a man pounced on him.

A friend, sleeping nearby, stepped in and helped Nichols fend off the early-morning beating and robbery several months ago. Together, they chased the attacker away, back to his parked Pontiac Sunbird.

Nichols, who has traded a bed in the landscaping for a safer sleep inside his own van, calls it the buddy system. It's just one strategy that Orlando's homeless use to stay safe while living on the street.

Some doze during the day in the public library or on a Lynx bus so they can stay alert all night. Others make sure they are always moving, never too long in one place.

Succeed and avoid the young men who target the vulnerable – sometimes for money, sometimes for sport.

Fail and face ending up like August Felix, a 54-year-old transient whom five teens beat for entertainment March 26, Orlando police say. Felix died May 1 and received a pauper's burial after no one claimed his body.

"The mentality is, when you prey on a homeless person, no one cares, so you'll get away with it," said Nichols, who has been homeless since a November 2003 back injury caused him to lose his job and home. He now works full time but cannot afford an apartment, exposing him to predators.

"When you're all alone and afraid," he said, "they seem to feed off that."

This week, police arrested five boys suspected of beating Felix and at least five other homeless people in the area of America Street and Sylvia Lane.

The State Attorney's Office has not decided whether the teens will be tried as adults, a spokeswoman said. The Orlando Sentinel is not identifying the teens because of their ages.

The attack has driven another wedge between the homeless and city officials who hope to curb homelessness as the downtown core gentrifies.

More restrictions possible

Already, some feeding programs have been moved from Lake Eola to the underpass at Interstate 4 and State Road 408. The City Council is debating further restrictions that would move all large programs to an industrial area near where an Orlando Utilities Commission security guard found Felix.

To the homeless, Felix's death amplifies their feeling that they are vulnerable to hurled rocks and fists because Orlando's power structure has hurled insults at them, equating them with criminals.

"Everyone looks at you like you're an alcoholic or lazy," said Kathi Vega, 44, who ended up at the Coalition for the Homeless of Central Florida, with her sons, ages 12 and 13, after a knee injury on her job unloading stock at Target.

She was too afraid to stay on the street even one night.

"Me being out there on the street with two kids? You're a walking target," she said.

Yet even with several beatings under investigation and at least one attack on a homeless person at Lake Eola last week, city officials describe the attack on Felix as unusual.

Police sometimes see someone strike aggressive panhandlers, but most crimes against the homeless are by other homeless, Orlando police Sgt. Tom Woodhall said.

"I don't know of any homeless person that gets jumped for no reason," said Woodhall, the supervisor of the downtown bicycle unit that often encounters the homeless.

Other police officials aren't so sure. Felix appeared to be trying to protect himself by staying away from drug areas or places with lots of people, Sgt. Barbara Jones said. The homeless who are isolated even from other homeless – because of addiction, mental illness or just personality – are often the most vulnerable.

"There are some incidences where the person is alone and attacked by a group," Jones said. "What kind of odds are that, that you're going to fight for your life and survive?"

Even attacks that aren't fatal can have lasting consequences. A 47-year-old homeless woman who was jumped from behind at Lake Eola last week – and robbed of $17 – was hit in the head so hard that she stayed in the hospital for six days.

Nichols, who knows the woman from a church he runs, said she suffered a mild stroke and was learning to get around with a walker. The woman, who was headed to a new job as an assistant chef, may never be able to hold herself up long enough to work again, he said.

"For a few dollars . . . she'll never be able to stand on her feet again," said Nichols, pastor of First Vagabonds Church of God, a homeless fellowship that meets at downtown parks. "There has got to be an end to this."

Already, there are reports of teens throwing bottles at homeless as they line up for food every Saturday under the bridge. Homeless advocates hope these and other attacks will force the city to reconsider its latest effort to move the feeding programs.

Council member not swayed

But Orlando Commissioner Patty Sheehan, who sponsored the measure after complaints from residents and business owners, said she isn't changing her mind. The attacks raise another concern – that the area's homeless don't feel safe in going to the coalition and are taking risks out on the street.

"It's impossible for the police to keep people safe when they are sleeping on the streets," Sheehan said. "If people don't feel safe going to the social services that are there, that's what we all should focus on."

Many homeless agree.

Some said they avoid the coalition's "men's pavilion" for fear of being robbed or having to deal with high or drunken men. The pavilion will shelter any man who isn't disruptive, regardless of addictions, mental state or level of intoxication.

But some have found sanctuary there. William Mincy celebrated his 23rd birthday at the coalition Tuesday by being clean from the crack cocaine that landed him on the street.

Even when he was high, Mincy made sure never to be alone when he was on the streets, fearing an attack.

"The public perception [is that if] you're homeless, it's a person who can be killed and there is no value to your life," Mincy said. "There is no safe place when you have no worth."

Mariana Minaya of the Sentinel staff contributed to this report. April Hunt can be reached at 407-420-6269 or ahunt@orlandosentinel.com.