LAKE WORTH BEACH, Fla. — A Lake Worth grandmother couldn't believe what her grandkids witnessed last Friday at John Prince Park. She took pictures of a bar of soap on a water fountain. "One of the kids wanted to have a drink of water and there was soap on the water fountain. So I figured this is not right."
A few steps away at the splash park, she snapped another picture, then reached out to WPTV for help getting answers.
"While there we saw a man taking a shower at the water park area and we saw a man lying under the structures, the play structures."
Other park visitors noticed the homeless too.
A mother said, "It's a nice park but there's a lot of litter and trash. And you see people using things not necessarily what they were intended for like the water source and stuff like that."
Both women agree there should be a place for the homeless, just not at the park. "We should be able to take care of the homeless people, but this is not the place. I just wish they had somewhere better to go."
Palm Beach County Parks and Recreation Director Eric Call says they've made changes since the summer, trying to move the homeless to one part of the park, rather than having them spread out throughout the park.
"Well, actually the numbers are down a little bit from they were back during that time from about 90 down to about 70." And they're helping provide jobs. "We've had several employees leave for our Parks 2 Work program one was even employed by us."
The director told us park rangers are in the park. And a Task Force is now forming to implement other changes before the end of the year. Also, the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office says they routinely patrol the park.