Orange County Relocates Dozens of Individuals from Kaleo Ministries to Temporary Housing

Orange County, FL – On Wednesday, March 20, the property known as Kaleo Ministries / Hope City Refuge (1717 Harrell Road, Orlando, FL 32825) was served a Temporary Injunction by Orange County Government, citing numerous serious life safety issues. Under the injunction’s terms, the property owner was ordered to immediately “cease inviting and allowing persons to continue living in structures and buildings that are unsafe.”

As a result, approximately 100 men, women and children were displaced. The county set up its Help Now Mobile Resource Center nearby to assist them with securing temporary housing and other needed social services. Since then:

• 98 individuals have received assistance
• 81 are adults, 17 are children, 20 are disabled
• 69 separate placements were made, resulting in 97 individuals securing temporary housing

Orange County social service workers will continue to work with the 69 individuals temporarily placed in various extended-stay hotels. The goal is to transition them into permanent housing. There is no set timeline for how long the individuals may remain in temporary housing. It will depend on each individual’s unique circumstances and handled case by case.

Orange County determined it was necessary to take action to protect the residents of the unlicensed shelter, where the residents were living in unsafe and uninhabitable spaces such as shipping containers and cars. The county had worked with the property owner for several years to address multiple safety, zoning, and fire violations.

MORE INFO: A copy of the injunction and information regarding the property owner infractions are available here: https://ocfl.box.com/s/mhhysp564gprof4c3oexb99y2t0mlqpk