Exploring Solutions to the Critical Need for an Open Access Shelter

Currently in Orlando, in addition to capacity challenges at existing shelters, the existing service providers have certain restrictions or requirements for shelter guests that can result in some individuals being unwilling or unable to access the shelter. This may include the guest not being allowed to bring their pet, an unmarried partner, personal items or a requirement to participate in a religious program. Furthermore, our existing shelters do not allow guests or their personal belongings to stay onsite during the day, which results in individuals on our streets during the day with nowhere to go.  

Open access shelters are different in that they are open 24 hours a day, seven days a week and provide immediate shelter and a safe place for a person to stay while experiencing homelessness. These models help people get off the street, a choice many could not make if no Open Access Shelters were available.

Once the basic need for shelter is met, the shelter can help clients end their homelessness and address their other needs, including health care, employment, mental health and substance use treatment.

Open access shelters are based on the idea that everyone can be housed, and they remove or reduce barriers to entry and residency. These shelters are non-punitive and welcoming, and they can help people feel safe and be who they are.  In addition, practical but important barriers are addressed such as storage of all personal items so individuals do not have to carry or cart their belongings.

A well run, Open Access Shelter will minimize the unsheltered residents’ current impacts on neighborhoods by allowing its clients to remain on campus 24 hours day instead of roaming the streets during the day and sleeping in parks, under bridges and on the street at night.

Offering a variety of shelter types increases the likelihood that more people will come inside, which helps decrease unsheltered homelessness. Different types of programs are needed because everyone’s needs are different.

• In January of 2024, there were 759 unsheltered persons in Orange County, a 24% increase since 2023, with just over half located in or near downtown Orlando.

• Our region needs additional overnight shelter capacity to meet the increase in unsheltered persons.

•  An Open Access Shelter, open 24/7 for all persons without restrictions is one of our region’s most urgent unmet needs, as identified by our community during 2023 outreach, and affirmed as a regional need by the HSN Task Force on Unsheltered formed in the spring of 2024.

•  Aligns with the priorities set forth for Accelerate Orlando in leveraging $58M in federal funds to accelerate the city’s efforts related to affordable housing and homelessness.

•  Aligns with the city’s action plan on homelessness with the goal to reduce the number of unsheltered residents in our city by 50%.

•  A new Florida state law, “Unauthorized Public Camping and Public Sleeping,” which goes into effect October 1, prohibits municipal governments from authorizing or otherwise allowing “any person to regularly engage in public camping or sleeping on any public property.”  Open access shelters located throughout our region will be important in providing shelter and services to individuals who may otherwise have been arrested or sent to jail for misdemeanor crimes of homelessness (like camping). These arrests only prolong an individual's homelessness by adding a criminal record, fines and loss of personal items to their list of barriers to employment and housing.  

The operator of the shelter has not yet been identified.  The city and county intend to partner with a non-profit service provider to operate the Open Access Shelter and would solicit proposals requiring respondents to address all aspects of the overall operational plans including safety and security measures.

Recognizing the need for additional shelter space throughout the region, including Open Access Shelters, the Central Florida Commission on Homelessness (CFCH) requested pre-applications from nonprofit and units of local government that are interested in operating open-access shelters. Six local organizations responded and while this process was not specific to a certain location, it shows that there is interest from partners in operating this type of shelter.

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Staff and other community stakeholders have looked at successful similar models for an Open Access Shelter including the following: The Urban Rest Stop, Jacksonville; Pinellas Safe Harbor, Pinellas County; Grace Marketplace, Gainesville; Camillus House, Miami; and First Step Shelter, Daytona Beach. 

Individuals and the community benefit from the unsheltered being adequately housed and provided appropriate services and by allowing its clients to remain on campus 24 hours day instead of roaming the streets during the day and sleeping in parks, under bridges and on the street.   

Furthermore, these are more cost-effective solutions and require less government subsidies than alternative forms of intervention, such as crisis care, incarceration or institutionalization.

When selecting a non-profit service provider to operate the Open Access Shelter, the city and county would solicit proposals requiring respondents to address all aspects of the overall operational plans including safety and security measures. An experienced service provider will provide guidance and policies to ensure safety both inside and around the shelter. 

Furthermore, one of the city’s top priorities is protecting the safety of our entire community and we have multiple programs across agencies and partners to support this effort, including:  

• City’s Unsheltered Response Team – as part of its strategy to address the unsheltered, the city established a Cross-Agency, Multi-Sector Response Team, the City’s Unsheltered Response Team which consists of service providers and city departments working together to proactively address encampments through a services-first approach. This team is charged with leading and managing our services-first, proactive effort to keep our streets safe for all users.
• 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, in partnership with Aspire Health Partners, provides 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. 
•  Orlando Police Department Homeless Intervention Unit– a unit of trained officers, which can be assisted by mental health specialists, whose goal is to coordinate with service providers when interacting with the unsheltered and reduce arrests. The unit takes a lead role in the effort to address and clear encampments through a services-first approach and respond to and address any criminal element that may exist among the unsheltered population.

The city has already considered nearly 20 other properties, located throughout the city and will continue to explore all possible options to add additional shelter space throughout the city. Unfortunately, these properties were not viable due to cost, location, size or other factors.

The Homeless Services Network Task Force on Open Access Shelters is also actively looking for additional locations outside of the city, including former mobile home sites, surplus public buildings and land, existing agencies with extra land or space, blighted hotels, assisted living facilities and faith communities.

One of the most urgent unmet needs identified in our region is for additional overnight shelter space, particularly one open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, for all persons without restrictions. In addition to the city exploring opening this Open Access Shelter, we also continue to call on our Central Florida partners to help meet the challenge of providing overnight shelter space and more services throughout our region, including in east and west Orange County, so that no one community or city is responsible for providing all the services for the entire region. 

The Homeless Services Network, our regional coordinator of homeless services has convened a Task Force on Open Access shelters which is co-chaired by City staff. This task force has reviewed the data from the point in time count and the new Florida law and has made the addition of open access shelters in Seminole and Osceola counties a priority as well as multiple facilities on Orange County’s east and west side.

The new Florida state law, “Unauthorized Public Camping and Public Sleeping,” which goes into effect October 1 and prohibits municipal governments from authorizing or otherwise allowing “any person to regularly engage in public camping or sleeping on any public property.” 

Once a government is given written notice of any potential violation by a resident, business owner, or the Attorney General, they have five days to take all reasonable actions to address the alleged violation. If the government fails to do so, then the person or business who provided notice can bring a civil lawsuit seeking an injunction to enforce the law.   

Our City Unsheltered Response Team currently responds within five days, usually sooner, to concerns about unsheltered individuals. The city’s services-first approach to assisting those unable to find shelter relies on services of the HOPE Outreach Team, Downtown Ambassadors, OPD-Community Response Team and the newly formed Homeless Intervention Unit. The Open Access Shelter will be an important addition to this approach providing shelter and services to individuals who may otherwise have been arrested or sent to jail for misdemeanor crimes of homelessness (like camping). These arrests only prolong an individual's homelessness by adding a criminal record, fines and loss of personal items to their list of barriers to employment and housing.