In January of 2024, there were 759 unsheltered persons in Orange County, with just over half located in downtown Orlando. This is a 24% increase since 2023.
The city’s action plan on unsheltered homelessness establishes bold goals to be achieved by 2027:
- Reduce the presence of unsheltered persons by 50%
- Ensure no child spends the night on the streets of Orlando
- Provide pro-active, public space management – a services-first, diversion effort to coordinate housing and services for persons living outdoors.
In addition to the programs we support under our regional system of care, the City of Orlando is currently supporting a variety of short-term and long-term initiatives toward achieving the goals of the action plan.
Comprehensive Day Center at the Christian Service Center – In 2023, the city provided $6 million in funding to the Christian Service Center for a complete renovation of its existing facility into our community’s first comprehensive day services campus which provides a robust front door for persons experiencing homelessness to enter into the system of care. Christian Service Center provides its clients access to services needed to exit homelessness including employment, clothing, showers, laundry, storage, mail services, case management and access to substance abuse/mental health services as well as homelessness prevention through rent or utility assistance. The Christian Service Center provides a safe space for those who might otherwise be on the streets, reducing loitering and reducing loitering and daytime camping. The Christian Service Center is solutions-based and has lifted 3,303 adults and children out of homelessness since August 2021.
Coalition for the Homeless – The redevelopment of the current Coalition for the Homeless Campus to replace the existing Women & Families building, which was previously developed as a TV studio in the early 1950’s, into a new six-story facility with capacity to serve 350 women and children struggling with homelessness in shelter beds along with an additional 36 units of bridge housing that can accommodate families waiting to move into off-campus housing. Within this new building, with enhanced services such as counseling, medical assistance, dental services and childcare will be provided. The campus improvements also include the addition of a new two-story administrative office building.
Pathways Drop-In Center – In 2024, City Council approved $2.4 million in Accelerate Orlando funding to renovate and expand the Pathways Drop-in Center, located just outside the city limits at I4 and Orange Blossom Trail. The Pathways Drop-In Center provides a safe place during the day for unsheltered individuals and persons at risk of losing housing who have been diagnosed with serious mental illnesses, traumatic brain injuries and other severe brain disorders. Pathways Drop-In Center provides its clients daily essentials like laundry, hot meals and showers and helps guide those who are unhoused into housing.
Salvation Army – A partnership with Orange County to renovate the existing Women/Children’s and Men’s shelter facilities and provide additional safe space, access to case management and other services to help unsheltered persons exit their homelessness.
Increase Permanent Supportive Housing Units - The Central Florida region has placed more than 1,600 chronically homeless residents into permanent supportive housing with 97% remaining in those homes. To build on this success, the city will:
- Continue to expand permanent supportive housing for chronically homeless individuals by requiring city-supported affordable housing developments to provide 15% of their units for permanent supportive housing
- Partner with the Orlando Housing Authority to expand the number of rent subsidy vouchers
- Explore adding bridge housing at Salvation Army for employed men
Increase Affordable Housing - A lack of affordable housing is the single biggest predictor of a community’s homelessness. In 2015 the city made a commitment to double down on its affordable housing efforts and, since that time, has supported and championed the construction or rehabilitation of more than 3,100 housing units. As part of our effort, 250 new affordable housing units will be developed, including the transformation of a blighted hotel into Palm Gardens which opened in 2024 with 150 studio apartments, 15 reserved for permanent supportive housing.
Inclusive Public Space Management
- City’s Unsheltered Response Team – As part of its strategy to address unsheltered individuals, the city established a Cross-Agency, Multi-Sector Response Team. The City’s Unsheltered Response Team consists of the service providers and city departments listed working together to proactively address encampments through a services-first approach.
- HOPE Team – engages daily with homeless clients to conduct interventions to quickly assess and link clients to long term housing, health, mental health and other supportive services. Our HOPE team is the first response when a resident calls with concerns about an individual experiencing homelessness.
- Community Response Team (CRT) – part of the Orlando Police Department response team, in partnership with Aspire Health Partners, to provide a new line of first responders -- behavioral health experts -- to respond to residents experiencing a mental or behavioral crisis.
- Downtown Ambassador Program – outreach workers connecting those experiencing homelessness with social services, including shelter, identification, and counseling.
- Homeless Intervention Unit - Orlando Police Department takes a lead role in the effort to address and clear encampments through a services-first approach and respond to and address any criminal activity among the unsheltered population. OPD has established a homeless intervention unit of specially trained officers, assisted by mental health specialists, whose goal is to coordinate with service-providers when interacting with the unsheltered and reduce arrests.
- The Downtown Clean Team ensures our streets and sidewalks are clean and passable and their work includes daily trash pickup of more than 300 trash cans, sidewalk pressure washing and graffiti removal. For information regarding the Downtown Clean Team, please contact 407.246.3603.