ORLANDO, Fla. – A new Florida law takes effect next month, designed to prevent people from sleeping on public property.
Starting, Oct. 1, the rules of HB 1365 will bar local governments from overlooking “public camping” and allow said governments to designate property owned by a county or municipality to be used for such purposes for no longer than one year.
Inside of these one-year designated areas, access to clean and operable restrooms and running water is to be mandated, as well as the safety and security of the property and people residing there, resources for substance abuse, behavioral and mental health — coordinated with a regional managing entity — and the prohibition of illegal substance and alcohol use, the bill states. However, a “fiscally constrained county” would be exempt from establishing any of these standards except for the prohibition of illegal substance and alcohol use.
While proponents of the measure, such as bill sponsor and state Sen. Jonathan Martin, R-Fort Myers, have said the goal of the legislation is to improve safety for homeless people, visitors and housed residents alike, opponents, such as state Sen. Shevrin Jones, D-Miami Gardens, have expressed concern that the law will impact the visibility of people experiencing homelessness “with no exit strategy.”
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The Homeless Services Network of Central Florida conducts an annual survey — dubbed “Point-In-Time” (PIT) — which tracks homelessness statistics in Orange, Osceola and Seminole counties.
Referencing our recent conversation with HSN spokesperson Kate Santich, as well as PIT survey data from Jan. 22, here are five things about homelessness in Central Florida that you may not have already known:
- No pets, no couples, no space
- HSN delineates two types of homeless shelters — emergency and transitional shelters — and states neither type will allow people to bring any pets with them, nor will they provide storage for possessions beyond a duffel bag or two. Additionally, shelters will typically not allow unmarried couples to stay together.
The length of time a person can stay at an emergency shelter varies from agency to agency. Some guarantee only one night at a time. Others allow an initial free-stay period, after which they begin to charge a nightly fee.
Transitional shelters (or transitional housing units, as they are often individual apartments not in one location) are for up to two years (or three years in the case of young people ages 18-24). But transitional programs require more of residents. Typically, people have to either get a job, pursue a GED, or enter a job-training or recovery program.
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There are often difficulties if you have a family that consists of (for instance) a single mom and an older teenage son. In some shelters designated for women and children, they cannot stay together.
Kate Santich | Director of Communications & Public Affairs at HSN of Central Florida
- Most had a home until just recently
- According to Santich, most Central Floridians experiencing homelessness — about 75% — last had housing here, but were gradually priced out.
They’re from here – they just lost their housing, most often because of rental increases. Between 2019 and 2024, the cost of an average two-bedroom apartment in Metro Orlando went up nearly $700 a month – while average incomes increased by a fraction of that.
Kate Santich | Director of Communications & Public Affairs at HSN of Central Florida
- Most figures are rising
- According to the PIT figures, a total of 2,776 people counted as homeless among Orange, Osceola and Seminole counties reflects a 23% increase from 2023. County-by-county, homelessness is up 24% in Orange County and 53% in Seminole County while the figure actually decreased by 4% in Osceola County during that timeframe. Santich tells us the fastest-growing demographic of the area’s homeless population are those 55 and over. Altogether, the number of people experiencing unsheltered homelessness increased by 86% from 2023 to 2024.
We are seeing a particularly steep increase in women ages 65 and over – often widows whose Social Security checks can no longer cover the cost of housing.
Kate Santich | Director of Communications & Public Affairs at HSN of Central Florida
- Racial over-representation
- Citing July 2022 data from the U.S. Census Bureau showing Central Florida’s race breakdown of 74.47% White, 17.03% Black and 8.5% of other races, the PIT survey points to an over-representation of the Black population experiencing homelessness in the survey area, where some 47.8% of those experiencing homelessness are Black, 29.86% are White and 22.34% are of other races.
- When rent rises, so does the homeless population
- As was previously touched upon, the HSN primarily attributes the rising number of people experiencing homelessness in Central Florida to rental increases. Though Orange County voters in 2022 approved a rent-control ordinance, a law signed in March 2023 by Gov. Ron DeSantis — dubbed the “Live Local Act” — has since banned local governments from adopting or maintaining such measures.
The primary driver of the increase in unsheltered homelessness is the continuing lack of affordable housing coupled with rising rents and high eviction rates.
HSN Homeless Point-In-Time Count 2024 | CoC FL-507 Sheltered/Unsheltered Count (excerpt)
Learn more by accessing the HSN’s latest-published PIT infographics.
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