Orange County details homelessness strategy, adds temporary shelter capacity and programs with $10 million in funds

Orange County presented an update on homelessness and mental health initiatives on Sept. 16, describing recent investments, new programs launched with additional county funding, and the county’s process for handling encampment complaints under state law.

Lisa Clara Graham, manager of the county Mental Health and Homelessness Division, briefed the Board of County Commissioners on background, legal context and a portfolio of programs that have launched since the Board approved an additional $10 million for homelessness services. Graham said the county’s FY 2025–26 homelessness-related budget is approximately $51.6 million, and that some federally provided ARPA funds used for programs must be spent by 2026.

Graham noted that the 2025 local point-in-time (PIT) count recorded 1,972 people experiencing homelessness in Orange County (sheltered and unsheltered). Comparing 2024 to 2025 PIT data, staff reported a 2% decrease in the total counted population, a 1.7% decrease in unsheltered individuals, a 3.6% decrease in households with at least one child and an 8.5% decrease in people reporting serious mental illness; Graham cautioned that local trends require further analysis before attributing causation.

Graham reviewed the county’s encampment ordinance (adopted Jan. 7, 2025) and described the county’s complaint-and-response process under state law: residents report concerns through 311 or other channels, complaints are routed to the department that oversees the property and to contracted outreach teams, and outreach teams — including the Coalition for the Homeless, Pathlight Home and Samaritan Resource Center — engage individuals to offer shelter placement, case management and other services.

Graham described a portfolio of recently implemented and planned projects that increase shelter capacity and support housing transitions. Noted items and estimated annual operating budgets or one-time costs discussed by staff include:

- Overnight shelter bus (mobile shelter): purchase and remodel estimated at about $190,000 and roughly $600,000 annually for operations (drivers, security, case management, fuel, laundry). The bus will serve up to 20 individuals (by referral) and link clients each morning to a day center with supportive services; City of Apopka agreed to provide an overnight parking location for a West Orange pilot.

- Overnight trailers (two trailers plus support): storage and pending site selection; estimated operations about $650,000 annually to serve up to 20 people (10 per trailer) with on-site case management, showers, laundry and security; trailers already purchased by a partner and stored pending a site.

- Housing Stabilization (families): hotel-based bridge housing program operated by Samaritan Resource Center providing 30 emergency bridge housing rooms for families, with annual funding of about $933,000; to date the program has served families and transitioned households into permanent housing.

- Emergency hotel program (individuals): 10 temporary hotel rooms for individuals, funded at about $300,000 annually; launched Aug. 8 and has begun admissions.

- Case management training: a countywide, standardized case-management training for agencies that work with people experiencing homelessness; annual funding of $200,000; launched Sept. 8 and already provided classes to local agencies.

- First Step Staffing: a temporary-to-permanent staffing program that places clients into entry-level county jobs with the objective of converting to county full-time roles; program launched Aug. 1 and has placed 14 individuals so far; participating county divisions cover hiring costs for temporary positions.

- 3 Bridges (older adults, 50+): emergency bridge housing and supportive services for adults 50 and older operated by Pathlight Home; annual funding roughly $1,000,000; 10 rooms total with eight occupied at time of the briefing.

- Transitional housing for people with co-occurring mental health and substance-use disorders: 70 beds with supportive services in partnership with the managing entity Central Florida Cares; annual funding around $1,100,000; admissions beginning after launch under the consent agenda.

- Housing Connector partnership: a landlord risk-mitigation and placement program (national nonprofit model) funded at $400,000 annually; staff reported partnerships with 18 properties and training of 25 case managers to use the housing database.

- Accelerated skills training and vocational partnerships (Valencia College and others): short-term training programs linked to housing supports and workforce placement; several graduates reported already and an expansion to young adults seeking GEDs is under way.

Graham said the county has added more than 500 spaces (beds/rooms) across the newly implemented programs and projects, representing roughly 160 shelter beds when measured against the point-in-time gap of about 800 beds; she characterized that as fulfilling about 20% of the estimated need from new initiatives. Graham also said outreach expansion since 2020 has resulted in more than 2,118 clients served in FY 2024–25 by outreach teams.

Several commissioners and public commenters praised the county’s multi-pronged approach and emphasized the role of prevention and cross-agency coordination. Commissioner Wilson urged Medicaid expansion and developer incentives as longer-term solutions. Commissioner Scott, Commissioner Simrad and Commissioner Moore cited individual success stories and urged continued community outreach and clearer public information. Multiple public speakers during the public-comment period urged more funding for homelessness services and noted the human impacts of housing instability.

Graham said many initiatives are funded with a mix of county general funds and time-limited federal ARPA allocations; county staff stated ARPA-funded projects will require evaluation as the ARPA deadline approaches in 2026 and that the division is reviewing programs for efficiency and outcomes to inform FY 2026–27 budget decisions.

Graham closed by asking the board to recognize the division’s interdepartmental and public-private partnerships. Mayor Demings and commissioners thanked staff and community partners for their work and asked for periodic updates as the new programs come online and scale.

Quotes from the meeting are attributed to speakers present in the transcript, including Graham, commissioners and nonprofit partners.