You missed some pretty interesting discussions about what’s impacting Miami Beach! Don’t worry—you have another chance at the February 10 meeting. A special thank you to our guest speakers: Dr. Alba Tarre, Director of Housing and Community Services for Miami Beach; Valerie Navarrete, activist and founder of the Favela Miami Project; Detective Bernie of the Miami Beach Human Trafficking Task Force; and to all who attended or joined via zoom.

General meetings are held on the second Monday of the month. You’ll want to hear our roster of upcoming guest speakers if you want to stay in the know—they have the scoop on key topics that shape our community and will provide a glimpse behind the curtain of local and state politics.

We turned things around this time, and started by welcoming our guest speakers:

Dr. Alba Tarre, Director of Housing and Community Services for the City, shared her department’s holistic approach to homeless outreach. This model goes beyond shelter placement to include treatment beds for individuals struggling with mental illness and substance abuse, along with other critical services to help them transition to a stable life.

Valerie Navarrete, activist and founder of the Favela Miami Project, spoke passionately about her hands-on approach to addressing homelessness. Drawing from direct interviews and engagement, she emphasized how homelessness often serves as a catalyst for struggles like mental illness and substance abuse, rather than the other way around.  Valerie encouraged us to take action, appealing, “Don’t just look away.” She reminded us that many hardworking individuals and families are just one paycheck away from being forced onto the streets due to unforeseen life circumstances.

Detective Bernie of the Miami Beach Human Trafficking Task Force uncovered the hidden reality of human trafficking in our city. Far from Hollywood movies, this vicious crime disproportionately affects women and youth. Not even fancy Five Star hotels are immune from being used as venues by the perpetrators of this crime. The detective emphasized the task force’s ongoing efforts to identify victims and noted the alarming connection between homelessness and vulnerability to trafficking.

Q&A sessions after each speaker brought to light residents’ safety concerns and curiosity about the adequacy of the city’s homelessness program, as well as to the how and when of human trafficking crimes that often go unnoticed in community dialogues.

President Amanda Knapp followed, welcoming new members and introducing newly elected director Cristina Waters. Amanda provided an update on the DEC (Democrat Executive Committee) election results and outlined the MBDC’s 2025 strategic plan. The plan aims to turn Miami Beach blue again. The club will work hard to reelect Commissioners Alex Fernandez and Laura Dominguez and support Kristen Rosen Gonzalez’s bid for Miami Beach Mayor.

Given data indicating that about 75% of Miami Beach Democrats voted (an impressive rate in any election), our club will work on overcoming the numbers deficit of Democrats to Non-Party Affiliates and registered Republicans by focusing efforts on registering more voters on Miami Beach. A relaunch of the Precinct Captain Program will help in this effort.

Amanda discussed MBDC Board of Directors elections for seats 1 and 3 coming up at the March general meeting, as required by the Bylaws and announced the resignations of Treasurer Roger Goldblatt and Secretary Janet Silverman. Kevin Harris has declared his candidacy for Treasurer. She noted that to participate in any Club election, Voting Members must have an active membership as of the previous general meeting (e.g., your membership must be in effect as of the next general meeting on February 10 to qualify to vote in March).

Following, Vice President Linda Kolko shared the current membership count for voting and associate members and Treasurer Roger Goldblatt reported the club’s bank balance and the increase in membership dues from $25 to $35 as of January 1st.

Upcoming Events

• Days of Action – on January 23, thereafter the 1st Sunday of the month, and on the 3^rd Tuesday and Thursday.
• Volunteer Beach Clean Up, Saturday, March 29, 11am – 2pm EDT. Join us as we team up with VolunteerCleanUp.org. Let’s show our community we are up to the task! Sign up HERE.

Next Meeting

Our next general membership meeting will be on Monday, February 10, 7– 8:30pm EST at the Marseilles Beachfront Hotel on 1741 Collins Ave, Miami Beach. RSVP.