LEE COUNTY, FLA — Stuart bailey is a man on the move, but not because he wants to be.
"I spend the night walking most times, I sit down when I get tired. I move because I don't want to get a loitering [ticket] or trespassing [ticket]," he said.
You may remember him from this story we did a month ago, when he was recovering from COVID-19 in a Fort Myers hotel.
"I told him I'm not going back out there in the street," he said in July.
He was put there through a county program to help those struggling with homelessness self-isolate while recovering.
He says he was told by a case worker that once they discharged him, they'd help him get access to "rapid rehousing" and soon. But, that was a week ago.
"They told me the waiting list is by order of priority. So I'm 56 years old, I take pills for my heart and high blood pressure. I guess that's not a priority or what you would call a priority," said Bailey.
Now the navy veteran is afraid he'll get COVID-19 again.
"They're supposed to put you in housing not back out on the street," he said.
With his belongings on his back, he'll keep walking, waiting and wishing for basic necessities.
"It'd be nice to go take a shower," he said.
Fox 4 has reached out to the county for answers on the backlog its having with its rapid rehousing program and what's being done to fix it.
