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The day before my July 22 stroll through Five Points Park, the City Commission pulled the plug on the in-town shelter concept. It was a unanimous vote. Three city commissioners who had steadfastly held for the shelter qui- etly flipped their votes to "No." EASY TO SAY 'NO' NOW The driver of this chain of events has been the inrush of vagrants and the homeless into the city. A couple of weeks before Christmas 2012 and shortly after Atwell's TV interview, a parade of Gillespie Park residents com- plained to the city commissioners that — in the words of Louise Tracy — "It's become a homeless camp." They offered pictures to back up their testimony about an area near their homes. Police began to patrol there, and the vagrants moved on. It became a variation of Whac-a-Mole. Cops chased homeless encampments from Florida Avenue to Central Avenue, from Five Points to the railroad right of way near North Washington Boulevard. Eventually, the City Commission told the police not to enter camps of homeless people unless called upon to enforce the law. Throughout this whirlwind, The Salvation Army remained steady to its core mission, even though it started operating well beyond its nominal capacity. A new commander, Maj. Ethan Frizzell, began tinkering with services and fees. He is now about to embark on a 24-bed "triage" facility similar to what is used in Fort Myers. While there are a number of social service agencies working with the vagrants and home- less, Frizzell's population is the largest among them. He normally is juggling 240 people in different programs, making slow but steady Volunteers working on the national Point in Time census of homeless people counted residents at the Trinity Without Borders sanctuary on North Washington Boulevard in late January. Photo by Stan Zimmerman Sarasota News Leader July 25, 2014 Page 43