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Orlando City Council Votes to Give Salvation Army $95,000 for More Housing for the Homeless

A statue called "Homeless Jesus" rests on Jackson Street in downtown Orlando. The work was commissioned by First Presbyterian Church of Orlando and created by Canadian artist Timothy Schmalz. Image courtesy of Flickr Creative Commons
A statue called "Homeless Jesus" rests on Jackson Street in downtown Orlando. The work was commissioned by First Presbyterian Church of Orlando and created by Canadian artist Timothy Schmalz. Image courtesy of Flickr Creative Commons

The Orlando City Council voted Monday to provide the Salvation Army with additional funding to house homeless men during the coronavirus pandemic.

The Community Redevelopment Agency will give $95,000 to the Salvation Army to house an additional 50 homeless men in a tent outside the shelter.

Commissioner Regina Hill says this should help stop the spread of coronavirus in the homeless population, but only if residents are given protective gear.

"I want to make sure that we proceed with strict precautions because they are a vulnerable community also and probably have some underlying health problems."

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The Salvation Army will provide the men with toiletry kits and access to showers and bathrooms along with three meals a day.

The Council also voted to allow Catholic Charities of Central Florida five more months to complete a low income housing project delayed by coronavirus. 

President Gary Tester says he signed work orders to begin construction again on the home as early as this weekend.

“We don’t see it as an impediment as much as we see it as kind of like running through a little deeper mud. We’ll get on the other side of the pandemic and we’ll continue to persevere.”

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Catholic Charities will now have until October 31 to refurbish and rent out the single family home on Andrea Blvd.

Homeless Services Network of Central Florida is working to provide masks for homeless people living on the streets. 


If you'd like to listen to the story, click on the clips above.

Danielle Prieur is WMFE's education reporter.