ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — Central Florida nonprofits serving LGBTQ+ residents say they are losing funding as demand grows for food, housing and other basic services during Pride Month.

At Hope CommUnity Center in Apopka, staff said the food pantry is still stocked with items such as rice and beans. But bins normally filled with diapers and baby goods are bare.

“Rice, beans, also there’s a lot of children, so anything that’s specific to kids, juices,” said Zafia Gomez, LGBTQ+ services manager at Hope CommUnity Center.

Gomez said more families are seeking help because of job losses or changes in their households.

“There’s been a lot of folks that are now jobless, or their main provider has been deported, and their household was really relying on one person,” Gomez said.

About 20,000 families turned to the Apopka nonprofit for help last year.

Services include referrals, gender-affirming kits, toiletries and food, according to the organization.

Gomez, who is a trans Latina, said those services are important for the people Hope CommUnity Center serves. But she said the organization has had to make changes as supplies and funding become more limited.

“We have had to adjust how often somebody is able to come in for a bag of food, just to make sure that we kind ofration out what we do have,” Gomez said.

According to The Contigo Fund, about 200,000 LGBTQ+ people live in Central Florida, including 100,000 in the Orlando metro area. The organization also said the Orlando metropolitan area consistently ranks in the top 10 in the U.S. for the percentage of LGBTQ+ adults living there.

Regionally, approximately 20% to 40% of homeless youth identify as LGBTQ+, according to The Contigo Fund.

Some young people seek help at Zebra Youth in Orlando, which serves people ages 13 to 24.

Nino Franklin, a youth case manager, said about 300 young people walk through their doors each year. Comments the staff hears the most, according to Franklin,

“I have nowhere to stay. I have no food to eat. I have nowhere to take a shower. I have nowhere to cover my basic needs. I have no one in my corner,” Franklin said.

Franklin said Zebra Youth offers young people a place “to take a shower, to do their laundry, to have a meal, to be in community and have that support.”

Executive Director Andre Molette said Zebra Youth lost $500,000 in grants in 2025. Molette added that the organization has lost about 25% of its funding and has already lost $300,000 in federally backed grants in 2026.

“A lot of the funding hasn’t come through, so we’ve had to really adjust and pivot,” Molette said. “But unfortunately, some of the services, like housing, will have to be reduced.”

Potentially serving fewer clients.

“Everyone deserves a chance, the basics. Housing, as your parents tell you, the shelter, water, and food,” Franklin added.

Nonprofits committed to helping others, now in need of help themselves.