In October, the Christian Service Center for the Homeless will cut the ribbon on a $6 million renovation project that took three years to complete. Funded by the City of Orlando, the result includes a revamped building providing laundry and shower services, a new and improved kitchen, a new medical clinic, a large covered gathering area and an asphalt parking lot. This is all new or a great improvement over what were offered before, and is critical to our success. However, this renovation also shows that we are further than ever from finding an end to homelessness. Providing more services indicates more need. As a community, we should be reducing the need for the Christian Service Center, not expanding it.
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As a board member and volunteer, I regularly work with clients seeking housing options. I have done this work for four years, and the trends I see are disturbing. The unhoused population is getting older, rent increases are pushing otherwise stable people onto the street, and excessive heat and cuts to SNAP benefits are negatively impacting people’s health.
One client in particular stands out to me. We’ll call him Henry. Henry worked the same job for over 20 years, and retired early due to his physically demanding job and increasingly limited mobility. He and his wife were stable until she was diagnosed with cancer and passed away 18 months later. As Henry’s income dropped, his rent continued to rise and soon he was forced to move out. He has no close relatives, and before he came to us he was couch-surfing with friends and staying in a hotel when he could afford it. His limited mobility and lack of transportation make it hard for him to get to doctor appointments, which are over an hour away. Henry’s disabilities prevent him from finding employment. He’s left with few options. We referred him to one of the few local shelters in the area.
Henry’s story is a microcosm of what is happening in our community. So many people are one missed paycheck away from living on the streets. Increasing rents and healthcare costs combined with inflated grocery prices are creating a toxic mix of economic tragedy for people who never thought they would be in this situation. Add in an underfunded public transportation system, and a problem that began over 50 years ago with a few hundred unhoused people in Orlando has exploded into a housing and health crisis impacting thousands of our neighbors.
Our community must begin to work on the systemic problems that are impacting our community. We only have about 800 shelter beds in the area, and our unhoused population is estimated to be about 3,000, which is probably a low estimate. Our community desperately needs to prioritize funding shelter beds by the hundreds. I can’t tell you how many people I’ve spoken with who are trying to keep a job while sleeping outside or in their car. A safe place to get a good night’s sleep would improve the lives of so many.
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Our public transportation system is inadequate for a city of this size. Lynx needs to expand routes and services, and provide shaded bus stops at all locations to keep people out of the sun and rain. Many of our service industry workers ride the bus more than two hours each way to and from their minimum-wage jobs, and our unhoused neighbors cannot afford to get to doctor appointments and job interviews.
Building more shelters and revitalizing our public transportation system will take time. Help where you can right now. Donate to a local food pantry. Clothing charities are always looking for clothing, particularly underwear and socks. Support the work of the nonprofits working the front lines to serve those most in need.
Unfortunately there are hundreds of “Henrys” in Central Florida: Good people who got caught up in bad circumstances and are now facing long odds. When you go to the polls this November, think about your financial situation and how close you are to becoming Henry. Think about what the politicians you support are saying about the issue of homelessness and affordability. Vote for people who are talking about meaningful solutions to what is a public crisis: People who will go to Tallahassee and Washington and fight for more affordable housing, better access to healthcare, and more public transportation. No church, synagogue or nonprofit can fix these problems. We as a community need to step up. We need to work to a future where the Christian Service Center is there to provide support to the rare few who fall through the cracks. We need to do better for our neighbors and ourselves.
Michael Perkins is a member of the Board of Directors of the Christian Service Center for the Homeless in Orlando.
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