Orlando received a significant expansion in emergency homeless shelters with the launch Wednesday of a duo of buses-turned-shelters providing 42 new beds for the region’s unhoused population..
Building upon the “Dignity Bus” program, the 407 Connect consists of two, Greyhound-style buses that were purchased by the city for $350,000 to be reconstructed as sleeping pods. Each bus has 20 double-stacked twin beds – and an additional one that’s adaptable for disabled access – running down the sides.
Each pod has its own light, an electrical outlet to charge devices, clean linens and pillows, and a privacy curtain. The design includes a hallway down the middle of the bus leading to a washroom in the back, providing a toilet and hand sanitizer, but no running water.
Providing more than just shelter
The shelter buses stick to the basic necessities that are missing from unsheltered life, often with devastating effects on individuals’ physical, social and emotional health.
Executive Director Eric Gray was one of the first people to sleep in the new shelters before opening it up to the public. He said the buses are reserved for people who are serious about doing what it takes to get out of homelessness – it’s not intended as a no-barrier shelter. There are restrictions.
Gray said they will be mainly looking out for a history of disruptive, offensive or harmful behavior, such as substance use or violent and sexual crimes, as someone with that background will need further screening or would not be permitted on the buses.
However, he said, the shelters’ benefits far outweigh any rules and that for as long as someone who is trying to get housed needs shelter, they are welcome to stay and take advantage of the buses.
“Nothing automatically restricts you from using the service, but we're looking for people who are active in their solutions to get housed. So, if you're just looking for a retirement place to live for the next 30 years, this is not for you. This is a place that you can use temporarily to get sleep, restore a little hope, and get yourself off the streets,” he said.
Safety first, then dignity and family
Democratic State Rep. Anna Eskamani was one of the people who volunteered to test out the program before its official opening, spending the night inside one of the shelter buses Tuesday and waking up Wednesday at 6:30 a.m.
She said she felt safe and comfortable. “It was great to have the experience so that I could, of course, share that experience with others and really ensure that trust is established with this option. Because I do know that a lot of our folks who are unsheltered hesitate to use these types of services and programs. So we do have to destigmatize it, make it more accessible, and one reason why I wanted to do it was to show that it is safe – that it is so secure that even an elected official is comfortable sleeping here,” she said.
The shelters are also coed and allow parents with children of all ages — unlike most facilities — so families don’t need to separate from one another to have shelter. They also accept pets.
Ram Khan is one of the drivers and said he’s been a bus driver for more than 37 years. He says staying up overnight to watch the guests will take some getting used to, but he’s proud to be part of the work.
“As far as making history, oh, that's great, you know. I'm glad that they had this program, and I would love to see the program grow.. to see it get bigger, you know. I’ve enjoyed it so far,” Khan said.
Inside the Christian Services Center campus, guests will wake up to a hot breakfast and have access to shower trailers, housing, employment and rehab services, as well as community, electricity, cooling centers, activities, lunch and dinner during the day. Guests are welcome to come and go to work or to run errands, as long as they’re back by 9 p.m.
A call to action, a plea for change
While the program aims to fill a much-needed gap, there are some limitations. People who work overnight shifts, for example, would not be good fits for this kind of shelter. The shelter buses are also not built to take in people with great medical or mental health needs. People can be in a wheelchair but must be mobile and independent.
The shelters are mobile, so the buses help address the “not in my backyard” problem that many Orlando residents pose as they fight to keep homeless shelters from being built in or near their neighborhoods.
Having slept in the shelter bus, Gray said he was able to help identify other areas of improvement like additional storage.
Outside of that, Gray said he’s excited to keep learning how else the program can be improved, so it can continue to grow in Orlando and beyond. He said the community could use the help. Orlando currently hosts all homeless services available in Orange County and most of the services across Central Florida.
“My call was to all the communities of Central Florida to try and invest in homelessness,” Gray said. “Everybody needs to get on board because the City of Orlando can't operate as the only service provider for people experiencing homelessness. Every single one of those communities will have a person sleeping on their streets or in a car tonight, guaranteed.”
Gray hopes that the success of Dignity Buses in other cities like WHERE will be duplicated in Orlando as well. In fact, while the 407 Connect is the name of the program as a play on the area code, it’s also the target number of people housed through the program in just two to three years, said .
The plan includes touring the buses throughout the region, touting the program’s effectiveness– not just so communities can “buy into” the program or join some “activist model.” Instead, he said this is about numbers. It saves communities millions in the end to invest in their own people, and help relieve the stressed area of downtown Orlando.
“This is no joke; these are your neighbors. Literally, it's like you've had a house fire in your community every single night, and that's the way you have to respond to it. It's an emergency management problem. This is not a church and charity problem. This is a city county problem. It has to be addressed that way,” Gray said.
In Apopka, the homeless services day center Matthew’s Hope is working on a similar program, after the center’s Cocoa location just recently welcomed its first shelter bus of the year.
Lillian Hernández Caraballo is a Report for America corps member.
