ORLANDO, Fla. — The City of Orlando said it is not actively looking for potential brick-and-mortar locations for a homeless shelter.
The news comes on the heels of Mayor Buddy Dyer confirming on Monday that the city has dropped plans for a proposed homeless shelter in SODO.
SODO is an Orlando neighborhood whose name was derived from its location “South of Downtown.”
City leaders were looking to partner with Orange County to convert a former work release center on Kaley Street into a 300-bed homeless shelter.
Dyer said the location was ultimately “not feasible.”
The proposal also came with overwhelming opposition from many living in the SODO neighborhood.
“For those communities that don’t want shelters in their backyard, they need to start preparing for tents in their front yard,” said Eric Gray, executive director of the Christian Service Center.
City officials will now consider implementing a shelter on wheels concept, also known as a “Dignity Bus.”
The city is considering the purchase of two 45-foot buses that would house roughly 20 beds each and also include bathrooms.
“It’s innovative and we need to try new things and because it addresses the ‘not my backyard problem,’ because we can move it if we need to,” Gray said.
Commissioner Patty Sheehan said the proposal is better than nothing.
“But it’s not as good of a solution as getting people off the street, having them in a building, getting the medical care, all the wraparound services that we were really hoping to provide,” Sheehan said.
Orlando City Council is set to discuss the buses at its March 24th meeting.
Gray told Channel 9′s Ashlyn Webb that the buses would take at least 40 people off of the streets at any given time.
Because the city said the plan could benefit approximately 407 people over three years’ time, officials plan to brand the proposed bus project as “407 Connect.”
If approved, the buses could be in operation by June.
Be sure to monitor WFTV.com in the coming weeks for the latest developments on this story.
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