圖中這對夫婦，受信仰驅使，每周三去佛州Daytona beach公園給上百位流浪漢們送免費食物，風雨無阻，已做了一年多了。
上周在分發食物時，六位警察出現，將這對夫婦及另外四名誌願者從公園趕走，每人罰款$373，課以二級輕罪，並永不可再來此公園。理由是違反公園不可派發食物的規定。如果要做好事分發食物，鼓勵去和社會服務機構合作。
視頻裏也有不少白人
According to the group’s Facebook page, Chico and Debbie, along with four volunteers, were each given multiple 2nd degree misdemeanor citations. The fines totaled $373 per person, $2,238 for the group. The police also permanently banned the group from Manatee Island Park. “We both have made a lot of good friends in the park and are devastated that we are banned the Manatee Park forever,” Debbie wrote. “I am heartbroken.”
Police Chief Mike Chitwood commented about the incident to the Daytona Beach News-Journal: “The ordinance is there, so if we catch you, we’re going to cite you.” He went on to add, “If you want to feed people, and you want to do a good, Christian act, we encourage you to coordinate with the social service agencies.”
Daytona Beach is just the latest city to crack down on groups that feed the poor in city parks. Other recent examples range from Birmingham to St. Louis to Raleigh to Philadelphia to Orlando. A 2010 report from the National Law Center on Homelessness & Poverty identified more than a dozen other cities with restrictions and found an uptick in the number of new ordinances.
The Jimenezes, who both left jobs more than a year ago to focus on ministry full-time, were upset about the developments, but told the News-Journal that they planned to challenge the citations rather than pay them. “We are ‘ NOT Criminals ‘ and feeding ‘ Hungry folks ‘ is not a crime,” the couple said.
