Over a period of a week last month, hundreds of volunteers dedicated more than 2,000 hours to walking the streets of Central Florida and searching the woods in an effort to identify our region’s homeless veterans. I joined volunteers to participate in the “Veterans Surge,” our region’s first large-scale effort to identify and house homeless veterans, which found 418 veterans in need of services and a permanent home.
Armed with this new data and in-depth information, today I joined with Orange County Mayor Teresa Jacobs and other community leaders to announce five clear goals and strategies to put a laser focus on housing our veterans. I believe now, more than ever, that as a community we are putting the right resources and processes in place so that we can fight for our veterans like they fought for us.
The overwhelming community support for the Veterans Surge demonstrates, once again, that when our residents, our faith-based community, our business leaders and our government partners join together, we can transform our region.
– Buddy Dyer, Mayor
