What will happen to Central Florida’s homeless during Hurricane Milton? Local nonprofits are on it.

As Central Florida prepares for the Category 4 storm Hurricane Milton to make landfall later Wednesday on Florida’s Gulf Coast, a number of local nonprofits and social advocacy groups have partnered to get out the word to people without shelter who are living on the streets, sidewalks or in the woods.

Local nonprofits, through coordination by the Homeless Services Network, launched street outreach teams with government officials to provide homeless people with information about the storm, available shelters and free transportation options ahead of the storm.

“In most hurricanes, some people invariably try to ride out the storm unsheltered,” said chief operating officer Brian Postlewait of the Homeless Services Network in a statement. “This is not the storm to do that. No one should chance being left outside when Milton hits.”

Hurricane Milton is projected to hit Orange County as a Category 1 or 2 storm late Wednesday through early Thursday, with parts of Osceola and Polk Counties under a tornado watch as of Tuesday morning, according to the National Weather Service. Winds of up to 80 mph are expected in Orange County, and the region is also at risk for flash flooding.

Local advocates face a ticking clock in spreading the word and getting people to safety. While the Tampa Bay region faces Milton as a Category 4 storm upon landfall, there are still dangers associated with the storm projected to hit the Orlando area, particularly if you’re stuck outside.

Postlewait notes that many of those who lack shelter in the local region are newly homeless, meaning this could be the first time they’re bracing for a storm without a stable home to hunker down in. Out of roughly 1,130 unsheltered people in the region that volunteers surveyed during this year’s point-in-time count of the homeless population, about one-third shared that they had been homeless for less than one year. Dozens had only been homeless for a few weeks or months.

“They don’t necessarily know what to do when a storm comes,” Postlewait explained, to underscore the importance of spreading the word. They don’t know there are additional resources at that time, he continued. “That’s why our day-service centers, outreach workers and our own staff have been trying to spread the word to everyone possible.”

According to the Homeless Services Network, a “long list” of social service organizations in the region — including SALT Outreach, the Samaritan Center, the Christian Service Center and United Global Outreach, among others — have raced in recent days to provide unsheltered people in the region with information on where they can go and how they can get there, in collaboration with local governments’ emergency management officials.

Until winds reach sustained speeds of 35 miles per hour, Central Florida’s Lynx bus system is providing free transportation to government-run emergency shelters, and Uber is also offering free trips of up to $40 in value for transportation to government-run shelters through an agreement with the Florida Department of Emergency Management.

In addition, Lynx buses are offering transportation to some homeless shelters that advocates have warned in the past are at full capacity. But many shelters have managed to expand their capacity, according to the Homeless Services Network, by opening up spaces like meeting rooms, cafeterias, gyms, dining halls and offices to be used as sleeping areas.

Unhoused locals are not required to go to homeless shelters — you can go to any general county-run shelter. Anyone on the sex offender registry, however, must seek shelter at a facility that’s been set up the Orange County Jail.

Florida law has time-sensitive barriers in place for people on the sex offender registry list that can make it difficult for them to find shelter, or to evacuate ahead of major storms. Those convicted of certain sex crimes are barred from living within 1,000 feet of any school, playground, child care center or park, and are barred from general population or special needs shelters.

Furthermore, people on the registry are required under state law to register temporary addresses with their local sheriff’s office ahead of evacuation, and they are required to update their driver’s license or identification card with the temporary address within 48 hours of their departure date, according to The Appeal.

“Natural disasters, emergencies are complicated for everybody,” Guy Hamilton-Smith, a criminal defense and civil rights attorney, told The Appeal in 2019 ahead of Hurricane Dorian’s arrival in Florida. “For people who are on the registry and who are required to comply with this additional layer of law and policy, they become even more exceptionally complicated with a potential prison term on the end of it if they don’t manage to navigate the laws perfectly.”

Walking through the streets of downtown Orlando early Wednesday morning, amid light rain and moderate wind, an Orlando Weekly reporter noticed several people  wandering outside the Publix near Lake Eola (which is closed today) and standing outside the four-story Orlando Public Library, which is also closed. The downtown library, which opens at 10 a.m. most days, has historically (if controversially) served as a daytime refuge for the city’s homeless people. It is expected to remain closed through Friday due to the storm.

Kate Santich, director of communications for the Homeless Services Network, told Orlando Weekly in an email that while advocates were continuing to perform street outreach in the Orlando area Wednesday morning, some people who lack shelter may refuse to go to a shelter. Some may also be on the sex offender registry and don’t see the local jail as an appealing option to shelter in place.

Neither the county, nor the county corrections department, responded to an email inquiry about whether they have other options.

The number of people who lack shelter, more broadly speaking, has grown in recent years. As of January, there were at least 1,200 people in the tri-county region of Orange, Osceola and Seminole counties who lacked shelter, according to this year’s annual point-in-time count. Last year, that number was 587, meaning the number of unsheltered people in the region has more than doubled.

And that number by itself doesn’t capture the number of people who are broadly considered homeless, but not formerly considered unsheltered. A person can count as homeless if they lack a stable, fixed or regular residence to return to at night — for instance, if they are living temporarily in a homeless shelter, a hotel or motel room, or in transitional housing.

Orange County, one of the largest in the state, accounted for the largest population of homeless people within the tri-county region, where more than 2,000 were found living on the streets, in shelters, or other places that are not meant for long-term habitation.

As of Tuesday evening, there are 11 general population shelters in Orange County (including five that are pet-friendly) open for those who need a place to weather the storm, plus an additional three shelters for people with “special needs.” If you or a loved one requires a special needs shelter, please dial 311 for more information.

Unlike parts of Florida’s Gulf Coast, where Milton is expected to make landfall, Orange County is not under a mandatory evacuation order, as of Wednesday morning, although heavy rainfall and strong winds are likely, beginning Wednesday through early Thursday.

Seminole County issued an evacuation order specifically for residents in mobile homes, low-lying areas at higher risk for flooding, and for residents with special needs Wednesday morning.

The Homeless Services Network says they and their partnered organizations will continue their street outreach efforts until it’s no longer safe for them to do so, as stormy conditions are expected to reach the region later Wednesday.

Central Florida Hurricane Resources

Here are some resources for those local to the Orlando area:

• Storm information: Local residents can download the free FEMA app, available in English and Spanish, to receive real-time weather alerts and find local emergency shelters in their area.
• Orlando storm resources: The city of Orlando has updates available on storm preparation, including storm resources and information about supplies at orlando.gov/storm.
• Seminole County updates: Stay updated with critical storm information by visiting PrepareSeminole.org, where you’ll find updates, emergency contact numbers and preparedness resources.
• Shelters: Florida residents in affected areas can find open shelters in their area by visiting FloridaDisaster.org/shelter-status. Orange County has a list of shelters at ocfl.net/shelters.
• Parking: If you’re looking for somewhere to safely store your car during the storm, Orlando will be waiving fees at four of its downtown parking garages beginning 6 a.m. Wednesday through Friday at noon.
• Buses: The LYNX bus system is providing free rides to emergency shelters ahead of the storm, at least until winds reach 35 mph (our bus drivers need to be safe, too)
• Flooding: If you are in the city of Orlando and experience flooding, visit orlando.gov/flood or call 407-246-2238 to submit a work order. Crew members will assist ASAP, when it is safe for them to do so.
  
• State information hotline: The state of Florida has activated the State Assistance Information Line. Residents needing information and resources can call 1-800-342-3557. There are English, Spanish & Creole speakers available to answer questions.
• Reporting damage in Orlando: Beginning 4 p.m. Wednesday, the city of Orlando’s Citizen Information Line will go live. You can call this number to report problems, damages, etc. To reach the information line, call 407-246-4357
  

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This article appears in Oct 9-15, 2024.