COCOA, Fla. – A purple bus rolled into Cocoa Thursday, signaling a new place for homeless people in Brevard County.
Nonprofit Matthew’s Hope took ownership of one of three mobile shelter sleeper buses that the group will operate in the county.
Each bus, which is a former charter bus outfitted with beds and other necessities, will sleep up to 20 people a night. The buses are also supposed to have security and cameras on board. The group is working with other nonprofits and churches to host the buses on a rotating basis each night throughout the county.
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Scott Billue, Matthew’s Hope’s founder, told News 6 earlier this year that the buses are meant to be a bridge while local groups help people get the help they need to get back on their feet.
“We need to all understand, this is not going to solve the homeless issue,” said Billue. “This is a bridge, and it’s a start.”
Matthew’s Hope provides a range of services and outreach for homeless people in Brevard and Orange counties to help people get their lives back together, including drop-in shelters, day care, food pantries, health care and more.
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The buses are funded in part through private donations, as well as a grant from the state of Florida.
“You’d be surprised how soon you could be there yourself,” Billue said. “Some people’s attitude is, ‘Well, they made their bed, let them sleep in it.’ These people did nothing to make that bed. They had a spouse die. They had a child pass away.”
The 2025 PIT count for Brevard showed 1,062 people experiencing homelessness. The number was down 4.84% from the 2024 number of 1,116.
However, county homelessness advocates also acknowledged that the state law that bans public camping in Florida has made it harder to find homeless people because they are hiding to avoid law enforcement.
The Brevard Homeless Coalition says that one in three people who live on the streets is 55 years of age or older, and 81% of those unsheltered had been living in Brevard County when they lost their homes.
You can look at the data on the Brevard Homeless Coalition website.
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Matthew’s Hope also plans to manage a bus like this in Apopka in Orange County. Billue hopes to have the bus ready in the next six months or so. The city of Apopka approved the project last month.
Another homelessness group in Central Florida, Christian Service Center, is also working on mobile shelter buses. The center has partnered with the city of Orlando to have two buses ready to go this summer.
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