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Could a Housing Crisis Contribute to Homelessness? One Report Says it is in the Tri-County Area

By one estimate, someone working full-time making the minimum wage of $8.25 would have to work 102 hours per week to rent a two bedroom home. Photo: Flickr Creative Commons

A recent Central Florida Commission on Homelessness report found a lack of housing is contributing to local homelessness. Dale Brill of the Orlando Economic Partnership who worked on the report says solutions like Housing First that provides low-income individuals with apartments and supportive services might be the model moving forward.

“60 percent decrease in ER visits. So again costs being driven down. 85 percent decrease in criminal justice usage. So we saw a cost reduction from 30,000 per person to 18,000 per person per year.”

 He says there’s currently a housing deficit of about 70,000 units for people who make less than $17,500 annually.

The median income in the tri-county area is $35,000.

If you'd like to listen to the full story, please click on the clip above.

Danielle Prieur is WMFE's education reporter.