Commissioner Sheehan's Only Response to Stop SoDo Shelter

I went back and forth on whether of not to share this, but for the sake of transparency I think it is important to share Commissioner Sheehan's first and only response to my attempts at having a conversation. After the City announced they are dropping their plans to convert the Work Release building into a homeless shelter, I invited Commissioner Sheehan to our SoDo Solutions meeting.

"Hello Commissioner Sheehan,

We are pivoting the purpose of our March 12th meeting to an open discussion about viable solutions that would help homeless people and keep our neighborhoods safe. Numerous homeless service providers have confirmed their attendance, and we are expecting a strong community showing. Will you join us?

Best Regards,

Octavian Cantilli"

Below is her response.

"Dear Mr. Cantilli,

I have received your request for additional meetings regarding the SoDo shelter. This proposal was presented by Orlando officials as well as experts in the field of homelessness. I supported this proposal because I feel compassion for those who are homeless. I want to be clear.  This issue has been personally and professionally very difficult for me.  You see, I was homeless as a teenager.  Every mean thing that was said about homeless people feels like a direct attack on people just like me.  I was lucky.  A friends family took me in until I was 18 and could sign a lease on my own. Many times people will insist that I must represent their point of view.   I can not represent points of view I disagree with, regardless whether they are held by my constituents. I have been followed and attacked at meetings and social events, and my email has been jammed with these opinions for months.  I need to return to my work, and not be inundated with this cruelty any longer.  I suggest your group do some research on your own and educate yourselves on the plight of the homeless.  Come up with suggestions the Orlando City Council can consider.  It is not my responsibility to continue this discourse.  You got what you wanted.  Kindly refrain from involving me any longer.

Regards,

Patty Sheehan"

Let's break her response down part by part. She mentioned that she was a homeless teenager, but in this October 2019 interview with Outwords, Sheehan clearly explains she ran away from her parents because she wanted to do so. "I left home at 17. My parents and I, we just finally had enough. Mainly because I was having to work so hard. They weren't accepting. I was drinking too much. I was a wild child. I just decided I needed to leave." (LINK) Sorry Commissioner Sheehan, being a "wild child" who decided to run away from your parents doesn't put you in the same category as people experiencing homelessness from domestic abuse, human trafficing, mental illness or chronic phisical illness. She goes on to say she was attacked at meetings, but she didn't provide any police records of these incidents. Then, she says her email has been jammed with these opinions for months yet during city council meets I attended she repeated said that she was surprised by how few responses of concerns she has received from residents. She followed this up with, "I suggest your group do some research on your own and educate yourselves on the plight of the homeless." Our site is 100% research with sources cited. Not only that by my personal experience includes working on over a dozen stories about homelessness in Michigan and Ohio during my prior life as a photojournalist. Last but not least she wrote, "Kindly refrain from involving me any longer. I need to return to my work, and not be inundated with this cruelty any longer." This was the most shocked part to me! Correct me if I'm wrong but this issue is 100% part of her job and it was the sole reason I and so many of our neighbors reached out to her. A couple weeks ago, I attended a nice community parade through Landcaster Park where Sheehan rode on one of the floats. That was not her job. Riding on a float during a community parade is a reward for doing the tough part of her job, which is participating in community discussion about controversial issues! A job she is blatently failing at, and I look forward to holding her accountable come the next election for District 4.