Late Halloween morning at the Alfred Washburn Center in West Pensacola, about 150 people gathered in the courtyard, under vast live oaks and gathering clouds. They ate sack lunches, checked their mail and waited in line to use the showers.

The rain had just begun to fall and a sense of anxiety was palpable – not only because of the holidays or the gloomy weather, but also because the county authorities had, just that morning, begun preparing to evict the inhabitants of one of the the largest homeless encampments in the region.

“There’s a lot of activity on Beggs Lane today,” said Michael Kimberl, who runs the center, which serves as a lifeline for the homeless. “The county is putting up no trespassing signs, as well as fencing today. The county will be evicting everyone from this property on December 2.”

The impending eviction is just the latest chapter in a series of policies that have intensified struggles for the homeless in Escambia County. A new Florida lawwhich came into force on October 1, criminalizes activities such as sleeping in public spaces. Starting January 1, this law will also allow local governments to be sued if they fail to comply with its provisions. Those caught trespassing could face fines or even jail time, penalties imposed on people who have nowhere else to go.

Kimberl said he had already seen the effects of this policy even before its launch. “These laws that were passed recently have sent shivers down the spines of this entire community,” Kimberl said. “We’ve seen people become more aggressive because they’re stressed, a lot depressed and just anxious about what’s going to happen.”

Most Americans respond to laws that affect their lives by voting, by making their voices heard at the ballot box. But for homeless people, exercising this right can be much more difficult. Simply getting to a polling place, qualifying to vote, and even finding the time to think about voting are significant obstacles for those on the streets.

Steven Foster is one of those affected by these obstacles. He was working as a live-in caretaker for an elderly woman in Navarre when a fire destroyed her home and livelihood.

“I’ve been working since I was 16. And I’ve never had to necessarily depend on anyone else,” Foster said. “Now, I’ve had people help me in the past when I had a problem. But never anything to the point where you wake up in the morning and you literally have nothing to eat unless you go the find.”

After the fire, Foster moved to Georgia and managed to save $1,100 to try to start over. But then, while he was going to the bathroom at a McDonald’s, someone stole his backpack, which contained all his money and ID. He eventually got a new ID at the Washburn Center, but he still hasn’t registered to vote.

“I didn’t even try to get the voter ID because, frankly, it’s about waking up and surviving today,” Foster said. “I guess when you wake up and ask ‘What am I going to eat today?’ and “Where am I going to eat today?” that getting my voter registration card isn’t… in the top 10 list.”

Official Escambia County records show just 178 voters registered at known homeless shelters — a small fraction of the thousands of homeless people here. Nationally, only about 10 percent of unhoused people are registered to vote, compared to more than 70 percent of the general population. This gap reflects the considerable barriers faced by unhoused voters trying to participate in democracy.

Kimberl described unhoused people as being on the front lines of a larger struggle.

“If I were to look at the situation from a class war perspective, they are on the front lines,” Kimberl said. “These are the people who are the most battered and bruised, and this center functions as a medical unit to treat them, prepare them to go back and try to succeed in this society.”

For Melissa Potts, who works with the Washburn Center, the frustration goes beyond the search for stability. It’s also about being seen and heard.

“I’m tired of people looking down on us,” Potts said, “because we’re people. We’re just people in a panic situation… Vote for us. Vote for us for a change. Help us ”

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