ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — Orange County Commissioners had a meeting on Wednesday in regards to the homeless and building them public camps to shelter in.
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With House Bill 1365 taking effect on October 1, and it preventing cities and counties from allowing people to sleep on public property local governments have to be careful about getting sued by residents for violating this law.
Local governments are encouraged to build shelters for the homeless to prevent these violations.
According to the commissioners, Orange County has set aside $10 million dollars in the next budget to address the homeless issue, which includes the massive shortfall in shelter bed capacity.
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According to the latest data, Orange County is more than 900 shelter beds short.
Once the law goes into effect, $50 million dollars will go to homeless services in the next budget, and $10 million of that is in this year’s funding.
The county estimates that it will take $11 million to build a facility that can fit 100 shelter beds.
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Even with millions in extra funds, that won’t close the shelter capacity gap.
Right now, county staff says they are finalizing a plan for spending the 10 million they do have.
The county says a task force is now meeting monthly to come up with possible shelter locations and a regional plan.
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