Trump rescinds freeze order, Central Florida homelessness nonprofits 'relieved'
By Lillian Hernández Caraballo
January 30, 2025 at 7:36 AM EST
After a day of anxiety and confusion, local homeless service nonprofits said they're now "relieved," after the federal government rescinded an executive order to freeze federal loans, grants and funding for other programs.
At an Orlando press conference Wednesday, Martha Are, CEO of the Homeless Services Network of Central Florida said this is good news for military veterans, children, seniors, people with disabilities, survivors of domestic violence, and survivors of human trafficking who were once homeless but are now housed.
"This ensures that vital programs for very vulnerable people will continue," Are said. "Over 1,000 households were at risk of facing eviction due to unexpected cancellation of rent payments and needed services."
Holding a stack of papers in her left arm and a microphone in her right, Are said those were the rent payments for people in need of housing services.
"These are the rent checks that we will be sending out for February rent that we weren't sure yesterday that we were going to be able to do that. These many people, these many households are tied to the funds that were in jeopardy yesterday," she said.
Are said housing resources are more important than ever, now that living costs are so high, climate conditions so extreme, and homelessness continues to increase, as other alternatives are criminalized.
Congressman Maxwell Frost said his office has brought in millions to help build affordable housing and provide fragile services like food, disaster, and healthcare services for people who lack the access and material means.
Holding the stack of checks, Maxwell said helping people is an investment, more cost effective than criminalizing people or getting to them once it's too late.
"It is both cheaper and less challenging for us as a community and as a government to do this [send the rent checks], than to help people once they don't have a roof over their heads anymore," Frost said.
While the order's reversal was cause for relief, Aaron Lewis, president and co-founder of the Framily Support Network, said it should have never happened in the first place.
"Housing is not a privilege — it is a human right, and we cannot allow political maneuvering to destabilize the very systems that protect our most vulnerable. This must be a turning point. We need stability, we need reliability, and we need leadership that ensures housing assistance is never again treated as a bargaining chip," Lewis said.
The group said they would continue to advocate for safe and reliable funding.
Lillian Hernández Caraballo is a Report for America corps member.
At an Orlando press conference Wednesday, Martha Are, CEO of the Homeless Services Network of Central Florida said this is good news for military veterans, children, seniors, people with disabilities, survivors of domestic violence, and survivors of human trafficking who were once homeless but are now housed.
"This ensures that vital programs for very vulnerable people will continue," Are said. "Over 1,000 households were at risk of facing eviction due to unexpected cancellation of rent payments and needed services."
Holding a stack of papers in her left arm and a microphone in her right, Are said those were the rent payments for people in need of housing services.
"These are the rent checks that we will be sending out for February rent that we weren't sure yesterday that we were going to be able to do that. These many people, these many households are tied to the funds that were in jeopardy yesterday," she said.
Are said housing resources are more important than ever, now that living costs are so high, climate conditions so extreme, and homelessness continues to increase, as other alternatives are criminalized.
Congressman Maxwell Frost said his office has brought in millions to help build affordable housing and provide fragile services like food, disaster, and healthcare services for people who lack the access and material means.
Holding the stack of checks, Maxwell said helping people is an investment, more cost effective than criminalizing people or getting to them once it's too late.
"It is both cheaper and less challenging for us as a community and as a government to do this [send the rent checks], than to help people once they don't have a roof over their heads anymore," Frost said.
While the order's reversal was cause for relief, Aaron Lewis, president and co-founder of the Framily Support Network, said it should have never happened in the first place.
"Housing is not a privilege — it is a human right, and we cannot allow political maneuvering to destabilize the very systems that protect our most vulnerable. This must be a turning point. We need stability, we need reliability, and we need leadership that ensures housing assistance is never again treated as a bargaining chip," Lewis said.
The group said they would continue to advocate for safe and reliable funding.
Lillian Hernández Caraballo is a Report for America corps member.