ORLANDO, Fla. – A town hall meeting on Thursday evening invites the public to ask questions about the issue of homelessness in east Orange County, and what people can do.
The Samaritan Resource Center is a drop-in center that provides help with government documents, finding jobs, getting medical care, and providing services like showers, laundry, and a supply pantry for people in need in the eastern part of the county.
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The nonprofit also hosts monthly town hall meetings with the community to help answer questions about homeless people in the area, what they need, and how best to help out.
“We invite everyone, we invite the local businesses, we invite the residents who live around us, who live in east Orlando, we invite the churches,” said Zeynep Portway, executive director of the Samaritan Resource Center. “Just trying to engage more and more of the community and educate them about the extent of the issue and about the lack of resources and maybe engage them in solutions.”
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Portway, who spoke at a League of Women Voters event on homelessness last week, told attendees the town hall helps dispel myths and misinformation about homeless people in the community.
For instance, people may not realize that there aren’t shelters throughout the county.
“It’s easy enough to say ‘Why don’t they just go to shelter?‘” Portway said. “But when they find out, ‘Oh really, there’s no shelter?’ No, there is no shelter.”
Everyone is welcome to attend the town hall meeting on Thursday at 5:30 p.m. at Faith United Methodist Church at 1411 N. Dean Road in Orlando.
The group is also hosting a charity 5K on April 5 at Blanchard Park at 7 a.m. Tickets are $25.
To learn more about the Samaritan Resource Center and what it does, head to the SRC website.