City Will Fine Church for Tents, Homeless Ministry

A church in South Florida risks $50 a day in fines from the city of West Palm Beach if it doesn’t remove a large tent on its property and continues to allow homeless people to sleep in it.

The city claims Westgate Tabernacle Church, which erected an outdoor tent because it ran out of indoor space for the homeless ministry, does not have a permit for its tent. Even if it did, city dwelling codes do not allow people to inhabit tents. But the threat is not stopping the church’s leader, Bishop Avis Hill, from continuing the ministry. He says he has no intention of taking the tent down or halting the ministry. He commented, however, to reporters that if the ministry moved to the lawn of City Hall, the local government might realize the need for the homeless ministry in the city.

More than 50 people are sleeping every night in the large tent, which sprawls over 2,400 square feet.

Source:

WPBF-TV, Palm Beach, Fla.: Church housing homeless under tent to be fined

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