Lillian Hernández Caraballo
ReporterLilly is a bilingual, multimedia journalist covering housing and homelessness for Central Florida Public Media, as a Report for America corps member. Before joining public radio, she was an editor at Hometown News and an associate producer at Spectrum News 13 — a Top 20 TV market.
Born and raised in Puerto Rico, Lilly moved to Central Florida as an adult, where she graduated University of Central Florida with degrees in journalism, writing and rhetoric, and Hispanic media. At UCF, she served as editor-in-chief for NSM Today, the institution's student-led news outlet, now called The Charge. While there, she also hosted, managed, and web produced WUCF's “The Road to Freedom Avenue: The Legacy of Harry T. and Harriette V. Moore,” a student project and audio series that won a National Edward R. Murrow Award in 2022 for Excellence in Digital Reporting, a 2021 Sunshine State Award from the Society of Professional Journalists, and the Broadcast Education Association's 2021 Best in Show award for Student Audio.
Lilly serves as vice president of her National Association of Hispanic Journalists' local chapter board and as vice president of the Report for America Council. Most recently, she received a 2024 Florida Association of Broadcast Journalists award for her political coverage on Central Florida's property taxes.
Feel free to contact Lilly via email at lhernandez@cfpublic.org.
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Increases come mainly from people who have experienced chronic homelessness for years. As they age, their demographic presence rises. -
The law bans unauthorized camping or sleeping on public property. Its effectiveness is unclear, and depends on who you ask. -
Proponents said they are giving residents what they’ve been asking for years, but critics said the ordinance goes against new state law. -
Experts believe Florida’s camping ban is having an affect on the number of people experiencing homelessness in the region. -
Central Florida’s rising home prices – despite largest inventory of homes since 2011 – has perplexed some real estate experts. -
Central Florida Public Media is covering the day of protests in communities across the region. -
Tim McKinney has been working with the “forgotten community” of Bithlo, asking for homeless shelters, especially now with Florida’s camping ban. -
Republican Debbie Mayfield won former seat of now-Congressman Randy Fine, who won a special election to replace U.S. Congressman Mike Waltz. -
Cumulatively, the last 10 quarterly reports show rate increases of about 30% statewide and 40% in Central Florida since 2022. -
A group of 23 households in the Miller Lake area filed a lawsuit against 10 real estate developers over flooding concerns. -
As state Republicans discuss reducing or even eliminating property taxes, progressive-leaning local leaders are voicing concerns. -
The Miami Beach-based microtransit service, Freebee, is offering 35 vehicles for close to $5M a year. This could mean savings for the county but also higher fares.
