Need for shelter on the rise in Central Florida; United Way may be able to help

ORLANDO, Fla. — On Sunday, Feb. 11, Heart of Florida United Way plans to highlight its 2-1-1 hotline.

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It’s a number that people in Central Florida can call if they need support.

24/7 — 365 days a year — multi-language speaking representatives are only a phone call away.

“It’s access to community information, referral, for available community resources for health and human services and community services,” Catherine Rea, Vice President of 2-1-1 Crisis Services for HFUW, said.

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Over the last year, the crisis line received nearly 135,000 contacts from Orange, Seminole and Osceola counties.

That’s more than 360 people, on average, who called every day for help.

More than 50,000 of those calls were for the need of housing and shelter.

“Unfortunately, there’s not enough shelter beds and permanent support of housing in our community to accommodate the need,” Rea said.

Tim McKinney, the CEO of United Global Outreach, works closely with the unsheltered population in Orange County.

He said the demand far surpasses what is available.

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“All of those are beyond capacity,” McKinney said. “I think it would be safe to say we have no shelter capacity currently.”

This shortage has left thousands without a bed to sleep in.

“The consequences are human beings, our neighbors, our friends, our fellow citizens are living in subhuman conditions which is unacceptable in the USA in 2024,” McKinney said.

Heart of Florida United Way is using its resources to combat this and encourages those in need to reach out.

“We really try to work with people to find alternative resources that might be available to them that they didn’t think of or realize,” Rea said.

All of the 2-1-1 Information & Referral Line information can be found here.

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