Mayor Buddy Dyer, Commissioner Lynum and Olive Garden Recognize Homeless Individuals Who Worked on Amway Center

WHAT:
Steve Brogan was frustrated that he was unable to find work after being laid-off as a result of the economic downturn. The 52-year old master carpenter and glazier had been laid off from a construction job and as a result and is now homeless. Brogan sought out the City of Orlando’s BLUEPRINT Employment Office in hopes of finding work constructing the Amway Center. Brogan is one of the 112 homeless individuals who have received work through the City’s BLUEPRINT Employment Office.

On Friday, September 23, Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer and District 5 City Commissioner Daisy Lynum, the architects of the BLUEPRINT Initiative, are hosting a luncheon sponsored by Olive Garden for the homeless individuals who have received work through the BLUEPRINT Employment Office.

As part of the construction of the Amway Center, Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts and the Citrus Bowl projects, the City and its partners have committed to providing jobs and training opportunities for Central Florida residents. The BLUEPRINT Employment Office provides a central location for residents looking to work on these projects. The BLUEPRINT identified target populations including homeless, ex-offenders and Parramore residents to focus employment efforts. In total, nearly 1,800 Central Floridians have received help finding employment through the BLUEPRINT Employment Office.

WHEN:
Friday, September 30, 2011
11:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.

WHERE:
BLUEPRINT Employment Office
1200 West South Street
Orlando, FL 32805

ADDITIONAL BACKGROUND:
While social services do not fall underneath the City’s jurisdiction, the City has undertaken an number of efforts with the goal of ending homelessness in the Central Florida region, including:

• Through the Central Florida Commission on Homelessness, 50 transitional housing units will open this year to aid homeless individuals in achieving self-sufficiency. This will be achieved through the following project:
• The Orlando Housing Authority’s West Oaks Apartment community will include 50, 1-bed units to be used as transitional housing. Residents in the transitional housing will receive counseling and supportive services provided by Wayne Densch Center.
• The Central Florida Commission on Homelessness, in partnership with Heart of Florida United Way, launched the Homeless Children and Families Emergency Fund to provide short-term housing assistance to families with minor children who are homeless or about to become homeless but cannot access available community resources for 30 days or less. Established with funding support of $125,000 from United Way, Orlando Magic and the City of Orlando.
• The City of Orlando and Orange County have committed $6.6 million over two years in capital funding support to build a new Coalition for the Homeless of Central Florida Men’s Service Center. The new Men’s Service Center will offer case management and supportive services to assist the most underserved homeless population, men. A groundbreaking is scheduled for summer 2011.
• Ongoing support of IDignity events that assist more than 2900 homeless individuals in 2010 obtained identification cards, social security cards or birth certificates an essential step in establishing self-sufficiency.
• The Downtown Development Board installed Donation Stations, similar to parking meters, throughout the Downtown Core. Downtown residents and guests can use the Donation Stations to make charitable donations, which will be collected and go directly to support the Central Florida Commission on Homelessness. One of the programs supported by the donation stations will be the downtown outreach program, which provides contact and case management to chronic homeless on the streets of downtown.

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