ORLANDO, Fla. — Orange County commissioners approved an additional $159,000 for the Coalition for the Homeless to expand its homelessness prevention and diversion services.
The organization says the funding will help about 150 more people while expanding outreach into underserved communities.
For Michael Nipper, the coalition made it possible for him to rebuild his life.
“I would have lost my kids if they wouldn’t have helped me,” Nipper said.
Nipper said the coalition helped him find stable housing, search for jobs, and prepare to move into an apartment with his two sons. He now has three jobs, including one at Disney that he says wasn’t possible until he had stable housing.
Coalition for the Homeless Chief Operations Officer, Mimi Coenen, said the additional funding will expand a program that has already helped many people move into permanent housing.
“The latest allotment we just got from Orange County was to be able to expand a program that we had had year over year,” Coenen said. “So they added additional dollars to our contract so we could extend a little more and help more people get financial assistance to move into their own places.”
Coenen said the coalition serves about 250 people each day in its men’s service center and about 240 people in its children, women and family center. Through outreach efforts, the organization also works with about 300 additional people, meaning it serves roughly 800 clients at any given time.
“We want people to find housing right away, but we don’t want to rush them through it,” Coenen said. “We want them to have a housing plan.”
Nipper said knowing more people will have access to those services is encouraging.
“It makes me feel good because I know those resources weren’t available when I was a little younger,” he said. “Now the coalition helps like a lot — a lot more than other services were available ten, 15 years ago.”