Orlando takes steps forward in plan for new 300-bed shelter in SoDo neighborhood

Orlando's City Council has decided to take the first steps toward a possible new homeless shelter.

At a special City Council meeting on Monday, several people went to the podium to tell the Council they felt this decision was rushed. Residents and business owners who live near the proposed shelter say they didn't get enough warning or a fair chance to weigh in.

However, the city is emphasizing, this vote doesn't mean the shelter is absolutely moving forward. It's just an agreement that Orange County will make a building they own available to the City of Orlando for use as a shelter.

This site in question is right by the hospital in the SoDo neighborhood of Orlando. The building used to house people who had been incarcerated and were then out on work release. Moving forward, it may serve as a low-barrier shelter for 300 unhoused people.

Council member Shan Rose proposed the idea.

"We've been exploring locations for a while now," she said.

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Council member Rose says the city will be working with nonprofit organizations to ensure the new shelter, if created, would be one of the best in the state. Martha Are of the Homeless Services Network says 75% of people experiencing homelessness in Orlando right now are in that situation for the very first time.

"Families, veterans, young adults, seniors, all struggle to pay the rent in a market that is still escalating," she said, promising the Homeless Services Network would assist the city.

Families and business owners in SoDO are largely against the shelter.

Caroline Wieland told the council she volunteers her time assisting people experiencing homelessness, but she has some reservations about the proposed site.

"Most of the people in SoDo, I think they genuinely care," said Wieland. "But they also care about the business owners, the residents, the schoolchildren, the hospital employees, the teachers. You know, we have to value everybody in the equation, including the homeless, but not at the detriment of the residents."

Council member Rose says the city has considered possible fallout from the shelter.

"We want folks to know that we will provide security, and we will provide safety measures to ensure that the community surrounding is safe," said Rose.

Residents also brought up concerns that there are already a lot of homeless individuals around SoDo these days. They don't want to attract more.

Council member Patty Sheehan, who represents District 4, says she believes the shelter would help – not harm – with that predicament.

"There are people hanging out in Delaney and Wadeview. This is to get them out of the neighborhood and into a facility. You can't have it both ways. You can't say, 'Let's people flop all over the sidewalk and we don't want to see them, but we don't have a place to house them either.'"

Sheehan says if the shelter becomes a crime problem, she'll be the first one saying to shut it down. But she says she wants to at least give it a shot.

"A lot of people are struggling right now," said Wieland. "But we can't take that and ignore the reality that some people who are struggling with, you know, drug addiction, mental illness, they're there, too."

The vote to move forward passed five to two.

The city says there will be many more meetings about this in the future.