{"id":446,"date":"2026-05-12T20:36:45","date_gmt":"2026-05-12T20:36:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=446"},"modified":"2026-05-12T20:36:45","modified_gmt":"2026-05-12T20:36:45","slug":"central-floridas-homeless-branch-out-from-downtown-orlando-advocates-say","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=446","title":{"rendered":"Central Florida\u2019s homeless branch out from downtown Orlando, advocates say"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Homeless encampments throughout Central Florida have drifted further from the urban core, popping up in greater densities in the suburbs in all directions from downtown Orlando as people seek to to evade attention or arrest, advocates believe.<\/p>\n

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That shift, they say, helps explain numbers released Tuesday from the annual three-day count of the region\u2019s homeless population in January. The survey found that people who slept outside or in their cars was at 993, up 133% since 2022 but slightly down from last year.<\/p>\n

Overall, including those sleeping in shelter beds, January\u2019s homeless count stood at 2,724, nearly identical to January 2024. About 100 more people than last year were sleeping at shelters \u2013 highlighting the slight uptick of available bed space \u2013 and about 100 fewer were counted outside.<\/p>\n

Those who work with the region\u2019s homeless say the numbers are enlightening, but fail to tell the true story of the growth and the shifts of the population without shelter.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s become harder to find people to count as they stray further from the streets and sidewalks of downtown \u2014\u00a0 and it\u2019s become even more difficult to convince those on the streets to participate in the survey.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe connect that to the fear,\u201d said Martha Are, the CEO of the Homeless Services Network, at a press conference at the First United Methodist Church in Orlando. \u201cWe had more people who refused to answer the question at all.\u201d<\/p>\n

The federally mandated three-day count, which measures where a person slept on Jan. 25, is generally seen as an undercount as encampments are often purposely set up to avoid detection deep in woods and other secluded areas. But it offers a snapshot of a region\u2019s battle with homelessness.<\/p>\n

Homeless service providers have also struggled to track encampments following the passing of anti-camping legislation in Florida which went into effect last year. The law requires local governments to respond to complaints about encampments and clear them, or they could be subject to lawsuits. But doing so typically leads to people to simply move elsewhere, often further from public view.<\/p>\n

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Unsurprisingly, the highest numbers were in Orange, where 1,979 were counted. Of those, 667 were considered \u201cunsheltered,\u201d sleeping outside or in their cars and not in shelter beds.<\/p>\n

In Osceola, 382 were counted, including 189 unsheltered. And in Seminole, 363 were counted with 137 unsheltered.<\/p>\n

Orange and Osceola saw 3% and 2% growth in the homeless population respectively, while Seminole\u2019s total dipped 17%.<\/p>\n

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Among the unsheltered, 53% were found on streets or sidewalks, 27% were in the woods or encampments and 8% slept in their vehicles. Smaller percentages were found in places like abandoned buildings, under highway bridges or other areas.<\/p>\n

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Niki, who has been homeless since 2006, said at the press conference that her life was thrown into chaos after being in three car accidents in 2005, leaving her with a traumatic brain injury. Prior to the crashes she had a full-time job and was a student, but suffered short-term memory loss after the wrecks.<\/p>\n

When she was on the streets, she said she worried about the police arresting her or others harming her. Now, she sleeps in a week-to-week hotel on East Colonial Drive.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s one of those areas where I don\u2019t even call it living on the street \u2013 I call it surviving,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Niki represents a growing demographic, as more than 25% of unsheltered people were women.<\/p>\n

Additionally, more than 20% of them reported being a victim of domestic violence.<\/p>\n

\u201cBeing in an abusive relationship shouldn\u2019t lead to you sleeping outside,\u201d Are said. \u201cWe can do better than that.\u201d<\/p>\n

The homeless population is also getting older, with 715 people counted who were 55 or above, including a 6% increase year over year.<\/p>\n

Among seniors, 205 people were 65 years or older, and about half of them had never been homeless before.<\/p>\n

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According to the numbers released Tuesday from the annual three-day count in January, the region\u2019s population of people who slept outside or in their cars was at 993, up 133% since 2022. Overall, including those sleeping in shelter beds, January’s homeless count stood at 2,724, nearly identical to January 2024.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":445,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-446","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-local-news"],"yoast_head":"\nCentral Florida\u2019s homeless branch out from downtown Orlando, advocates say - Orlando Relocation Report<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=446\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Central Florida\u2019s homeless branch out from downtown Orlando, advocates say - Orlando Relocation Report\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"According to the numbers released Tuesday from the annual three-day count in January, the region\u2019s population of people who slept outside or in their cars was at 993, up 133% since 2022. 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