The Orange County Board of County Commissioners (BCC) unanimously approved on Tuesday a one-year contract totaling more than $787,000 for a nonprofit to set up a sleeper bus program to help people experiencing homelessness get back on their feet.   

The sleeper bus program is organized by Matthew’s Hope, a nonprofit outreach organization located in Orange and Brevard counties.  

District 1 Commissioner Nicole Wilson introduced pastor Scott Billue, Matthew’s Hope founder and CEO, to the BCC. Wilson said she visited Matthew’s Hope emergency shelter buses in September in Brevard County, where the facilities currently operate. She encouraged people to visit the buses since “these shelters are already changing lives.”  

The BCC’s vote to approve the sleeper buses is a “meaningful” day for Billue, Wilson told the board.  

“It [the buses] will serve residents all over west Orange County in an effort many have worked tirelessly to bring today,” Wilson said. “I am so thrilled to support him in the homeless outreach efforts of Matthew’s Hope and the unbelievable dedication he has to improving people’s lives.” 

Billue launched Matthew’s Hope in 2010 as a way of temporarily housing the homeless population from the cold weather.  

Matthew’s Hope mobile teams are assisting homeless men, women and children throughout the county, from I-4 west into Clermont “before the sun rises” and as the cold weather approaches. Billue said state legislation has caused anxiety and tension among the homeless, motivating them to “do desperate things.”  

“Don’t buy into the false narrative [of] what homelessness looks like,” Billue said. “The truth is that many are elderly, some very ill, while others are physically and or mentally disabled. And then there are those young families with children with no understanding how they are supposed to survive on our streets due to the increased law enforcement of new laws coming out of Tallahassee, basically making it illegal to sleep outside — illegal to be homeless.” 

In 2024, Gov. Ron DeSantis signed House Bill 1365 into law, which requires counties to make sure that homeless people get the necessary drug addiction and mental health services while staying in a designated location off public streets.  

According to a March 20, 2024, press statement from the governor’s office, this law is aimed at prioritizing public safety. 

“Florida will not allow homeless encampments to intrude on its citizens or undermine their quality of life like we see in states like New York and California,” DeSantis said in the statement. “[This] legislation upholds our commitment to law and order while also ensuring homeless individuals have the resources they need to get back on their feet.” 

A sleeper bus is a refurbished bus used as a mobile temporary homeless shelter. Each bus can accommodate up to 20 people overnight for up to three days. These vehicles serve as a way of providing sleep and comfort, security, and connection to resources, including medical support and mental health care.  

Orange County anticipates that the sleeper bus program will serve about 2,000 people every year, Mayor Jerry L. Demings said.  

After voting, Demings highlighted other consent agenda items the board had passed that will serve communities throughout Orange County including the sleeper bus program. 

“Almost all those issues that you bring to us require some type of financial solution,” Demings said. “This is where, within our budget, where we have flexibility to address these myriad of issues. This is how we do it. So keep that in mind as you hear some other narratives that sometimes come out or other reasons.”  

In June, the Apopka City Council approved Matthew’s Hope sleeping bus program.  

At the Wednesday City Council meeting, Mayor Bryan Nelson said Billue contacted him with news of Orange County’s approval of the sleeper buses.  

Nelson said he will reach out to some of the area churches to provide a parking area for the vehicles, and that electricity can be provided to run the sleeper buses.   

“It might be six months before we get the sleeper bus, but it’s on its way and so we just want to make sure we got the location,” Nelson said during his report. “If you got any locations that people would [think] make sense, feel free to give us a call because we’ve got to get with Duke Energy to make sure we got the power needed to run the sleeper bus.”