Orlando's Covenant House to close its shelter for homeless youth this summer

The nonprofit emergency shelter Covenant House plans to shut down its services and lay off several workers after nearly two decades in Orlando.

The 28-bed crisis shelter, located at 5931 E. Colonial Drive, cites financial challenges as the reason for the closure. It will shut its doors by July 28, according to a notice of staff layoffs sent to Florida's Department of Economic Opportunity by Renee Trincanello, Convenant House Florida CEO.

The facility has offered housing services for homeless young adults since its opening in 1996. It serves those aged 18 to 22, including pregnant and parenting young adults, as well as their children.

With the closure, 22 employees will also lose their jobs by July 28.

"Since 1995, Covenant House Florida has been meeting the needs of youth experiencing homelessness in the Central Florida community," Trincanello wrote in the letter.

The news comes as Orlando's rent and housing prices continue to surge without much legal protection. Even with rental assistance like housing vouchers, low-income renters are still struggling to get by.

“To lose emergency shelter beds specifically for this population is devastating,” said Martha Are, CEO of the Homeless Services Network of Central Florida, in a statement. “This has been a critically important resource for youth experiencing homelessness in our community, and the timing is particularly unfortunate.”

Martha Are, CEO of the Homeless Services Network of Central Florida, told Orlando Business Journal  that Covenant House's other local programs will continue. The services include an Employment Assistance Program, Child Development and Parenting Education, food and hygiene, case management, education enrollment assistance and more.

Covenant House also offers a transitional housing program, the Rights of Passage Apartment Living Program, which provides temporary housing for youth in apartments in Orange and Osceola counties.

Petula Sankaringh, Covenant House Florida's chief development officer, told the Orlando Sentinel the charity will begin "phasing out" emergency shelter services in Orlando this month.

“This pivot in services will allow CHF to make the most impact in the community and continue supporting youth through street outreach, supportive services and transitional housing programs,” she said.

Covenant House is part of a larger New York-based nonprofit organization, which also has an emergency shelter in Fort Lauderdale offering an 80-person capacity shelter.

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