ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. – Orange County leaders are advancing a proposal to build a homeless shelter in the Goldenrod area, a project supporters call a step toward long-term housing solutions, but one that’s drawing pushback from some neighbors.
The plan, discussed Monday, would create the Goldenrod Village Homeless Shelter, with about 150 beds. County leaders say the goal is to build a “pathway to permanent housing” by pairing shelter space with services that help people stabilize and eventually move into housing.
During the meeting, officials cited the scope of homelessness in the county.
“There are 1,972 individuals experiencing homelessness in our county. That represents about 1.3 individuals for every 1,000 residents,” one speaker said.
The project’s estimated cost is about $26 million. If approved, county leaders say it could be up and running by 2030.
Some residents who live nearby say they’re uneasy about the proposal. Zaykeese Pant, who lives in the area, said the neighborhood has a mix of older residents and families with children.
“I’ve been here since 2014… it’s a lot of elderly people here, a lot of kids, so I’m kinda fishy about those people being here in this community,” Pant said.
Some supporters present Monday for the plan-presentation told News 6 homelessness can affect people from all walks of life, sometimes quickly.
“It can happen to anyone—just one health crisis… can put you out of a home or on the street,” one meeting attendee said.
A panel member also shared an example of how support services can prevent someone from losing housing: a mother of three who works for Amazon and uses her personal car for deliveries. When the car needed repairs, the cost threatened her ability to pay rent.
“That was about $2,000 to fix. Without housing connectors, she would have likely had to pay for that car incident, but then not been able to pay rent,” the panelist said.
The panelist said the woman was able to stay current on rent and has not needed those resources again for four months.
Still, concerns remain among some nearby business owners. Tommy Upton, a barber in the area, said he believes a shelter would change the community.
“They call it homeless shelter—who wants to bring their kids to a homeless shelter? We’re gonna be really affected by it,” Upton said.
The proposal is expected to be presented to the Orange County Board of County Commissioners, where commissioners will consider the next steps for the project.