ORLANDO, Fla. — According to End Homelessness, unsheltered and chronic homelessness has increased every year since 2016 in the United States.

And leaders at the Christian Service Center say the affordable housing deficit in Central Florida is contributing to that trend locally.

What You Need To Know

  • Experts say a lack of affordable housing is one of the leading causes of homelessness in the U.S.

  • Leaders at the Christian Service Center say there's a major deficit in the affordable hosing market that is driving homelessness in Central Florida

  • Mauldine Powers has been fighting for years to find stable housing but hasn't been able to find a home she can afford

  • According to CSC Executive Director Eric Gray, 62% of people living in the four-county metro area are spending more than 30% of their income on their rent or mortgage

There are multiple reasons why people may experience homelessness, but experts say one of the main issues is because of the lack of affordable housing.

Mauldine Powers, who came to Florida from Chicago in 2014, says she has been struggling for years to find an affordable place to live.

“So, I came to Florida," she said. "My sister was here — one of my sisters — and she said, 'Well, you should come down to Florida.' I said, 'OK.'"

Despite having experience in health care management and business, Powers said she struggled to find work.

“Yeah, I got my masters from Robert Morris University," she said.

Powers said she was able to find different jobs from time to time, but nothing that paid enough to keep the lights on consistently.

In 2019, she said she was evicted from the last place she could call her own.

Since then, she’s been doing what she can to keep a roof over her head.

“Since July of this year is the last rooming house I’ve been in," Powers said. "And now I’m living in a storage unit."

Christian Service Center Executive Director Eric Gray said stories like Powers' are the reality for more than 60% of those experiencing homelessness.

“The numbers aren’t just a handful of people," he said. "We’re talking about tens of thousands of families who are not in the right type of housing. Not because they’re making bad decisions, but because there’s nothing else available.”

Gray said CSC is constantly working to help people like Powers find homes, and have helped almost 1,110 people do so in 2024.

But their biggest problem is finding housing that doesn’t cost more than 30% of people's income.

“And 62% of the entire four-county metro area are spending more than 30% of their income on their rent or mortgage," Gray said. "Sixty-two percent, so this isn’t a small problem. This is actually the majority."

For example, Gray said affordable housing for those making $30,000 a year equates to rent less than $900 per month.

He said that is a number you would be hard pressed to find in Central Florida.

In fact, according to Gray, there is a major deficit when it comes to affordable housing for people in almost every tax bracket.

“So, what we have in this scenario is a deficit of 55,000 housing units that just don’t exist," he said. "Or they do exist somewhere, but they’re not priced the right way. And that would be a very challenging problem to tackle, except it gets worse, because in this particular area your deficit is around 20,000 units.”

These numbers make finding housing for people like Powers almost impossible, but she hasn’t let the challenge deter her.

“I don’t really want a lot," she said. "I just want to be able to come home, relax, have a good time by myself or with friends."

She said she's not giving up hope on the life she has always wanted.

Gray said the current housing crisis will take more than 30 years to address at its current rate.

It's something he believes only a change in housing legislation can make a reality.

To learn more about the Christian Service Center and its work to combat homelessness, visit the organization's website.