{"id":327541,"date":"2026-07-02T18:27:12","date_gmt":"2026-07-02T18:27:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/327541\/"},"modified":"2026-07-02T18:27:12","modified_gmt":"2026-07-02T18:27:12","slug":"fifty-unhoused-people-find-permanent-housing-through-407-connect-program","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/327541\/","title":{"rendered":"Fifty unhoused people find permanent housing through 407 Connect program"},"content":{"rendered":"

A City of Orlando program established in August 2025 has been helping homeless people find permanent housing \u2014 not through traditional brick-and-mortar shelters, but through buses.\n<\/p>\n

The program, called 407 Connect<\/a>, is a partnership project involving the city, the Community Redevelopment Agency<\/a> and the Christian Service Center for the Homeless<\/a>. The aim of 407 Connect is to help unhoused people by providing them with resources and services during the day \u2014 such as meals, showers, job assistance and housing navigation \u2014 and with shelter at night via the program\u2019s two buses, according to the Christian Service Center<\/a>\u2019s website.\n<\/p>\n

Since 407 Connect\u2019s launch, the program has enrolled 119 participants and helped 50 people find housing, said Ashley Papagni, one of Orlando\u2019s public information managers, in an email. According to an April 30 press release, these participants have consisted mostly of single adults.\n<\/p>\n

\u201c407 Connect represents a shift from temporary responses to long-term solutions,\u201d Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer said in the press release. \u201cBy combining innovation with strong partnerships and sustained investment, we are seeing real results that are changing lives and strengthening our community.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The 407 Connect shelter buses were unveiled in late August and will be operated by the Christian Service Center. (LILLIAN HERN\u00c1NDEZ CARABALLO)<\/p>\n

The program\u2019s name is 407 Connect because of its goal to help more than 407 homeless people find permanent housing over three years, Papagni said in her email.\n<\/p>\n

Each night, the 407 Connect buses can hold up to 42 passengers, and as individuals find housing, spots open for incoming participants, according to the city<\/a>\u2019s website.\n<\/p>\n

Papagni said the city provided the program with $350,000 in funding through the Accelerate Orlando program<\/a> to buy the buses, while the Community Redevelopment Agency gave approximately $3 million for three years of operating and move-in assistance.\n<\/p>\n

Papagni said 407 Connect aims to house participants within 60 days after joining the program, though medical disabilities and age can mean participants stay longer.\n<\/p>\n

\u201cThe fastest growing population of people we are seeing are over 75,\u201d she said. \u201cThe number of elderly married couples is deeply surprising and concerning.\u201d\n\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A City of Orlando program established in August 2025 has been helping homeless people find permanent housing \u2014…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":327542,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[139,141,140],"class_list":["post-327541","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-orlando","tag-orlando","tag-orlando-headlines","tag-orlando-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/327541","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=327541"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/327541\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/327542"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=327541"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=327541"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=327541"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}