The Apopka City Council voted unanimously on Wednesday to execute a one-year license agreement with Matthew’s Hope Ministries to set up its sleeper bus program, which is intended to accommodate the homeless community in the Apopka area.
Taking action at its June 18 meeting, the City Council forged an agreement with Matthew’s Hope, a Winter Garden and Cocoa nonprofit, to park their sleeper buses on select city-owned properties between 7 p.m. and 7 a.m., as authorized in writing by Mayor Bryan Nelson, according to a city staff report in the meeting agenda packet.
City staff identified the following city-owned properties as possible locations for the sleeper buses: the lot behind City Fuel Island at 320 E. Eighth St., the Apopka Police Department parking lot at 112 E. Main St., the property at 207 E. Eighth St., and the McBride/cemetery property at 21 N. Highland Ave.
The Matthew’s Hope sleeper bus program derived from last year’s passing of Florida House Bill (HB) 1365, which “prohibits counties & municipalities from authorizing or otherwise allowing public camping or sleeping on public property without certification of designated public property by the Department of Children and Families,” according to the bill.
“I feel like every time I go in front of a group that we need to all understand, this is not going to solve the homeless issue,” said Scott Billue, Matthew’s Hope founder and CEO. “This is a bridge, and it’s a start, but what it will do, especially in light of the new laws that are in place, it allows to be to treat people more with humane dignity. And I think that’s a key part.”
The bus will operate on a reservation system to manage the number of people and allow three-night stays. It will also do pick-ups and drop-offs to avoid overcrowding. A security firm and cameras with facial recognition technology will protect the bus. The bus will be self-contained, including a bathroom, and if necessary, a generator, Billue said.
The bus will start with one location in West Orange County but may move to different locations to help more individuals.
Before the City Council voted for license agreement approval, Nelson suggested adding other private properties, such as churches, where the bus could park and a monthly notification system for the city. The City Council agreed to those recommendations.
Billue first presented the sleeper bus program at the June 4 City Council meeting, where he assured the council that the program would cost the city nothing.
Matthew’s Hope has partnered with Brevard County to establish the sleeper bus program there. Three sleeper buses are now in operation with success, Billue said.
Serving Apopka for 15 years, Matthew’s Hope aims to provide people with a mental health care team that goes into the field with the nonprofit, offering a wide array of mental health care services, from basic counseling to psychiatric care. The organization’s Winter Garden outreach center spans 11,000 square feet, not including houses, a preschool or other amenities.
At the June 4 meeting, Billue said his organization has been focused on setting up a smaller facility in Apopka to distribute the same basic services as in Winter Garden, then bring people from Apopka to Winter Garden for more services.
The Apopka Chief and The Planter are weekly community newspapers, independently owned and family operated, that have served the greater Apopka area in Central Florida since 1923 and 1965 respectively.
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