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Home / World

US town uses 'Baby Shark' to drive homeless people away from its event centre

NZ Herald
18 Jul, 2019 03:15 AM2 mins to read

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West Palm Beach is using the song Baby Shark to deter people from spending the night near the Lake Pavilion events centre. Photo / YouTube

West Palm Beach is using the song Baby Shark to deter people from spending the night near the Lake Pavilion events centre. Photo / YouTube

A town in Florida, US, is pulling out the big guns in an effort to keep homeless people away from its events centre.

West Palm Beach is using "Baby Shark" to deter people from spending the night near the Lake Pavilion events centre.

The town has decided to play a continuous loop of both "Baby Shark" and "Raining Tacos" all night long to stop homeless people from seeking refuge in the area.

Leah Rockwell, the town's director of Parks and Recreation, says this is just a temporary fix but adds "it has been effective".

"We are not forcing individuals to stay on the patio of the pavilion to listen to the music. The music is heard only if you're on the patio," Rockwell told The Palm Beach Post.

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"People are paying a lot of money to use the facility," she added.

"We want to make sure people paying this money had a facility that was clean and open and continue to use it in the future."

The Lake Pavilion is a glass-walled venue overlooking the waterfront and hosts hundreds of events every year. The centre is expected to bring in more than US$240,000 in revenue for the city this year.

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Rockwell says patrons and staff should not be expected to walk in the midst of sleeping people when exiting and entering the area.

However, not all homeless people are kept away by the children's tunes.

Illaya Champion, one of the homeless people who often uses the events centre patio, says he will continue to sleep in the area, despite the annoying songs.

"It don't bother me, I still lay down in there. But it's on and on, the same songs."

Discover more

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Everything you should know about the Baby Shark phenomenon

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Girl from viral Baby Shark video now lives in Masterton

27 Sep 02:04 AM
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