Three months ago, Central Florida suffered a gut punch when its shelter for young adults, many 18 to 21 years old, announced it was closing.
The Covenant House crisis shelter served kids who were also technically adults but were struggling to make their way in the world because most had been dealt rotten hands in life.
Some had fled abusive homes or parents struggling with drug addiction. Some had been kicked out. Some were pregnant. Some had parents who couldn’t come to terms with their sexual orientation and just wanted them gone.
The 28-bed shelter in east Orange County, not far from the busy intersection of Colonial Drive and State Road 436, filled a crucial need.
But operators of the South Florida-based nonprofit decided they couldn’t keep the Orlando operation going. So as soon as the closing was announced, local advocates began huddling, hoping to work up a plan for someone to buy the shelter and keep it open.
Now, however, the property is listed for sale.
Before anyone else buys it — and turns it into another neighborhood car lot or vape store — local leaders need to step up to ensure they can continue to provide these services no one else does.
This community has the money. Local leaders are currently debating whether to dump another $700 million or so into expanding the convention center again or maybe spend $800 million putting a roof on Camping World Stadium.
Surely someone can step up to provide the $1.9 million asking price for this property. Maybe the county. Maybe private donors. Maybe a partnership.
Covenant House Orlando, a shelter for for homeless youths, to close in July
“If we don’t get this done, it would be a big missed opportunity.”
Those are the words of Martha Are, the CEO of the Homeless Services Network of Central Florida. Are said she and other advocates have been meeting regularly to brainstorm options but don’t yet have funding pledged.
Meanwhile, the property is now on the market. Are said it would be devastating for it to be sold to someone who wants to bulldoze the 12,500-square-foot building and campus or turn it into something else.
First of all, because the shelter for young adults fills a dire need. There was always a waiting list.
Also because the property is already zoned to do what it does — provide emergency shelter to those in need. And it’s often a Herculean task to get residents to welcome new shelters into their neighborhoods.
That last part is what most concerns Donna Wyche, the manager of Orange County’s Mental Health and Homelessness Division. “If you lose it to commercial, it’s gone forever,” she said.
Wyche says she believes local leaders from the private and public sectors can find a solution. “We’re trying as a community to find some sort of semblance of partnership,” she said. “As a community, we have to get our stuff together.”
It’s not clear how much time local leaders have.
Renee’ Trincanello, the CEO of Covenant House Florida said her organization still hopes to sell the shelter property to someone who would continue operating it in the same spirit. But she also said her nonprofit board decided to list the property to be fiscally responsible and “evaluate all of the possible opportunities.”
“I’m really hopeful that there will be an opportunity for us to sell to them,” Trincanello said. “We’re a very mission-driven service organization. And our position has never changed.”
That’s good to hear. But the bottom line is that the property is now listed.
If you want a feel for the kind of life-changing differences Covenant House has made, just read some of the stories the Sentinel has shared through the years.
They are the stories of people like Lindsay Davis, who arrived at Covenant House in 2016 with only a bathing suit and her birth certificate.
Davis had left an unstable home and was spending what should’ve been her senior year of high school sleeping on boardwalk benches in Daytona Beach. She was embarrassed to go to school without a shower or clean clothes.
Covenant House — which provided a place to stay, meals, education, job-training and more — helped Davis her earn a GED, a scholarship to Valencia College and generally get her life back on track.
Also people like Natalie Villard, profiled in a 2018 story, who was homeless and selling plasma before she found a safe haven there.
Surely this community can rally the resources to save a place that has transformed so many lives.
It would be great if some philanthropically minded individuals or businesses stepped up.
I also think Orange County could do so. The county has a $6 billion budget. So $1.9 million isn’t even a rounding error. (Seriously. We’re talking about 0.03%.) Yes, the county has budgeting cycles and certain pots of money reserved for certain needs. But county leaders can — and do — find money when they want to.
If a public-private partnership can join forces to raise the money for purchase and then fund the long-term operation, all the better.
Anyone who might be interested can contact the Homeless Services Network of Central Florida at info@hsncfl.org
This community has risen to challenges before. I sure hope we do so again. Because, while this shelter closing clearly presents a potential problem, it also presents an opportunity — and I’d argue an obligation — too important to ignore.
smaxwell@orlandosentinel.com
