Central Florida’s homeless advocates say it’s time to get serious about addressing a regional housing shortage.
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After a fire displaced 237 men living at the Coalition for the Homeless men’s shelter, community leaders came together to avoid a potential nightmare situation.
Multiple community organizations stepped up, so those displaced wouldn’t end up on the streets, but advocates said the immediate crisis posed by the fire shed light on the existing shortage of shelter beds and the need for long-term solutions.
One week later, some say it’s time for local governments to refocus on addressing housing needs.
Since at least 2022, local leaders have been analyzing and working to address the shortage of affordable housing.
In August of that year, Orange County Commissioners listened as staff presented the results of an analysis which found it was taking too long to go from planning to constructing homes.
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