Nothing says “world-class city” like a homeless tent encampment downtown, right? The City of Orlando and Mayor Buddy Dyer do not have much to say about a “tent city” that has formed near downtown in Parramore, close to the MLS soccer stadium and OCPS Academic Center for Excellence school. Residents began noticing the growing encampment and West Orlando News reached out to Dyer’s administration.
When asked about the homeless “tent city” at Parramore Ave. & Robinson St., along with reports from residents of garbage and trash piling up, disgusting smells, and sanitary concerns about the location, the City of Orlando denied knowing about the homeless encampment at the intersection property, but acknowledged a known problem of homeless people using tents on public right of way.
“We are aware of and have been working to house unsheltered that are utilizing tents on public right of way along Robinson Street and Parramore Avenue,” a city spokesperson said.
Photos of the growing “tent city” show the homeless are not using public right of way, rather they have taken over a property lot at the busy intersection:
Responding to follow up questions including the photo, the City of Orlando only responded that “there are no open violations at this location.”
When asked if the City of Orlando was concerned at all about the growing homeless encampment, especially with it being so close to the ACE school and the soccer stadium, Mayor Buddy Dyer’s administration had no response.
The City of Orlando has apparently decided to play dumb about the situation, even though they are definitely aware of the problem. West Orlando News later relayed reports from residents in the Parramore neighborhood about food being distributed to the “tent city” occupants, a portable bathroom possibly being on site, and that members of the encampment were looking to gather furniture from downtown to bring to the location.
“The city does not provide furniture, nor is the city distributing food or issuing permits to distribute food,” the city spokesperson responded when follow up questions were asked of Mayor Buddy Dyer’s administration.
It also appears Mayor Dyer is not going to do anything about the situation, unless a resident reports a code violation first.
“Should residents become aware of code violations and want to report them, they can submit them by phone at 407.246.2686 or online via the city‘s website,” she added.
So, at least for now, tourists and visitors who travel to Orlando and Central Florida can add a stop to witness our “world-class city” under Mayor Dyer, exemplified by a tent city right downtown:
As for Mayor Dyer, the City of Orlando somehow says the issue “continues to be a priority and focus for the city,” as they ignore a homeless tent encampment downtown.
The City of Orlando noted dedicating more than $600,000 and partnering with the Christian Service Center to implement a Rapid Unsheltered Survivor Housing (RUSH) program that focuses on providing services and short-term rental assistance for those who are unsheltered. Rapid Rehousing has been demonstrated to be effective in getting unsheltered into housing and stabilizing them so that other challenges that may have that led to their homelessness are addressed. To date, 27 unsheltered individuals have been rehoused and the EPiC outreach team surveyed 247 people, according to the city.
Through Accelerate Orlando, the city is leveraging $58 million in federal funding to address the community challenges of housing and homelessness. The City of Orlando decided to invest in what they call “trusted service providers,” including the Christian Service Center, Salvation Army and Coalition for the Homeless, to modernize their campuses, offer more wrap-around services and grow daytime operations. The city hopes this means fewer unsheltered neighbors on our streets, but a tent city downtown thwarts that narrative.
“Taken together, this represents the most significant investment in our city’s history to help care for those experiencing homelessness,” the city spokesperson said.
The tourist don’t visit Robinson and Parramore. However we prefer them being behind the fence rather than alone the fence at Callahan.
Tourists don’t want to visit downtown Orlando partly because it’s unsafe under Mayor Dyer and now homeless living in camps but a few people still go to mls soccer games down there isn’t that where someone was attacked and stabbed by a homeless person not a good look for the “city beautiful” and no way to bring in tourists from I drive and theme parks.