ORLANDO, Fla. – Laundry, showers and mail.
“This is our mail service right here. So each of these envelopes has a name on it. We’re doing service for a little over 400 people right now,” said SALT Outreach Executive Director Eric Camarillo.
These are some of the services SALT Outreach in Downtown Orlando will have to suspend or scale back on.
“This year is probably Salt’s tightest year because now this is the year we get $600,000 less funding,” said Eric.
Leaving many experiencing homelessness in the area with fewer resources they need to survive.
“It’s pretty difficult to find services like this. A lot of the services are places that you need money for,” said Cornelius White who is experiencing homelessness.
Eric Camarillo with SALT Outreach says the homeless population in Orlando has doubled year over year.
Since they started operating at the Christian Service Center in Downtown Orlando in 2020, they’ve received COVID funding from the government, which helped them keep up with the demand.
Unfortunately, that is no longer available, leaving them with a $600,000 deficit.
“We’re not on par with meeting fundraising goals. That’s why we’ve launched the Summer SALT fundraiser from July to September. To raise $200,000,” said Eric.
Eric said they were promised a six-figure donation from an organization they do not want to reveal. However, that payment is delayed. If they don’t raise that money they’ll have to move out of downtown.
“We know that a drop-in center is gonna be open here. We’re just gonna have to go to another location if we can’t get reopened here,” said Eric.
SALT Outreach is also suspending buying hygiene products and new clothes.
They’re hoping the community can help them achieve their $200,000 goal to continue operating throughout the year.
Eric says they are still running full mobile services in Sanford near Rescue Outreach Mission and also at a location with First United Methodist Church.
If you text “Summer SALT” to 44321 you’ll receive a link to donate to SALT Outreach Inc.
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