“Open Access Shelter” offering services 24-hrs/day, 7 days/week, with low barrier admission, and open to anyone in the County (or from elsewhere if they are brought to Orange County by other districts in Florida). Services include employment, medical/mental health/substance abuse support, personal belonging storage, beds for those with pets or unmarried partners, and access for those without identification. (Sources A B C)

Adding a big “low barrier admission” shelter (requiring no identification and serving all of Orange County) will bring most of the unhoused from across the County to this facility, regardless of their level of stability, willingness to sleep in the shelter, or willingness to comply to the rules. (Examples of non-compliance that lead to refusal from open access shelters are provided in this endnote URS). Those that do not comply will relocate to the street in the local area. Thus, the SoDo neighborhoods will likely see an influx of individuals living on our streets, especially the most unstable.

While most homeless are not dangerous, research demonstrates that violent and non-violent crime increases in adjacent neighborhoods of shelters, especially when those resources are concentrated (eg, > 50 beds). (Sources S T U). Our neighborhoods already experience break-ins, theft, squatting, public urination, indecent exposure, public drug use, aggressive behavior, and attacks on homeowners, due to our proximity to downtown where most homeless live, We carry ‘our weight’ (Source) Reports indicate that 759 homeless live in the County, with more than half already living near downtown Orlando (Source). Orlando westside currently has approx enough beds for all Orlando unhoused. Adding 300 beds in SoDo is meant to fill unmet needs of Orange County homeless living outside of Orlando, will lead to an excess of beds for the entire homeless population in the County, and will further concentrate resources and burden. Note too that adjacent counties - Osceola and Seminole - have less than 100 beds, suggesting that those counties too may choose to bring their homeless population to the nearest open access hub for the unhoused (ie, SoDo). (Source)

5 schools and 5 parks are within easy walking distance (2-mile radius), plus many more if that radius expands a couple of miles. Search the Sexual Offenders and Predators Register for sex offenders and predators in our neighborhood. Take note of the list under the map where many of their addresses are listed as “temporary” or “transient” or "unknown." They have pictures attached and a brief description of the crimes they’ve been convicted for. Especially note the pictures so you can call the police if you see them lurking around playgrounds or schools. Florida statutes 775.225 makes it illegal for any of these people to reside within 1,000 feet of any school, child care facility, park, or playground.

Considerable funds/effort were invested to make SoDo (Orange Ave) and Downtown Orlando more walkable and family friendly (e.g., attracting businesses, new construction). The location of this low barrier shelter is counter to these investments. Business owners are already discussing leaving the SoDo area due to the clear ramifications this shelter would have on their businesses.

Following a 5 vs 2 vote on 11/4/2024, Orlando City Council approved taking next steps to assess economic feasibility of the project, with reported plans to notify surrounding neighborhoods in the first quarter of 2025. Mayor Buddy Dyer, Patty Sheehan, Shan Rose, Bakari F. Burns, and Robert F. Stuart all voted for it and Jim Gray and Tony Ortiz voted against it. (Sources  C D)

Orlando taxpayers will pay initial and ongoing costs of operating a shelter in that location (Source).  Yet, Mayor Buddy Dyer pushed for shelter approval so that $626 million in Tourist Development Dollars from Orange County could be secured for investment in Orlando stadiums. It was part of a larger deal to end fighting over land annexations between Orlando and the County, despite negotiations being done against interests/ presence/ knowledge of those directly affected (Sources D E). For example, the SoDo location was excluded from earlier discussions on viability of shelter locations, yet added to a land annexation agreement without stakeholder knowledge and without any level of review like the other 23 sites were given (Source). The Council “utilized the minimum legally-required timeframe, avoided community feedback, and scheduled a special single-item meeting the day before a major national election.” (Source)

The County has leveraged $626 million as contingency for Orlando’s adoption of this major open access shelter as a response to a recent Florida law that took effect on 10/1/2024 prohibiting sleeping/camping on public property and permitting governing bodies to be sued for non-enforcement (Sources A D E). Although commissioners voiced concerns about the deal favoring the County and not Orlando residents’ interests, the plan was approved after a push from the Mayor citing fear of losing the County’s funds to invest in stadiums. (Source) Orlando is and will be the only location for Orange County to move their unhoused. If we do not take strong community action now, we will concentrate all of Orange County, likely more, homeless in our neighborhood. This hurts our homeless, hurts our community, hurts our City.

Before initial approval on 11/4/2024, 23 other locations (sources A F) were considered by the Council but rejected, including in Sept 2024 when community residents protested the problematic cost of focusing resources for the unhoused in one area (Sources B G H I).

All Orange County homeless shelters are located in one area of Orlando – the westside – none anywhere else in Orange County (Sources D H).

•  9+ shelters w/ >600 beds are on Orlando’s westside (>240 w/in 2miles of SoDo & ~500 beds w/in 3miles of SoDo). (Sources J K L M N O P Q)

• 0 shelters are on Orlando’s eastside (after 1 shelter w/ 28 beds closed in 2023) despite eastside’s many thriving downtowns. (Source)

• 0 homeless shelters are anywhere in Orange County beyond Orlando City limits . (Source)

• Orlando houses 59 of 69 Orange County non-shelter services offered to homeless.  (Source)

• Research emphasize problems with resource concentration and instead recommend small dispersed shelters. (Sources S T U)

The City of Orlando cited other Open Access Shelters in Florida as models: (Source)

• The Urban Rest Stop in Jacksonville (no beds ), (Source)

• Grace Marketplace in Gainesville (reduction in hours and beds after budget cuts, now 90 beds) (Source)

• Camillus House Miami (3/4 reduction of beds due to contract disputes over cost, now 90 beds) (Source)

• Pinellas Safe Harbor (470 beds, 2.4 stars of 471 Google Reviews) (Sources)

• First Step Shelter in Daytona Beach (100 beds but not enough interest in filling all beds) (Source)

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When these facilities downsized or closed, homeless often returned to living on the street in the nearby communities (Source). A local example of this type of closure is the Covenant House for homeless youth, which closed in 2023 due to financial challenges (Source). When beds are available, many choose to stay on the street for various reasons, including fear of theft, assault, and sanitation within these facilities. (Source)

Despite initial plan approval, no steps have been taken to review recommendations made by research/policy holders, to engage the community, to listen to voiced concerns by commissioners / residents, to determine safety / security measures, or to identify: (Sources D A) 

• Who will operate the shelter?

• What steps will be taken if unstable individuals are turned away from the shelter due to non-compliance?

• What steps will be taken if there are more homeless brought to the shelter than capacity can handle?

• Where will the new population of unhoused go if reduction in funds require partial to full closure of the facility in the future?

The fact that no other municipalities (eg, Winter Park, Winter Garden, Ocoee, Maitland) volunteered for this shelter and that OC needs to leverage $626M to convince Orlando to adopt it implies it will not be the positive impact the Mayor suggests it will be.