ORLANDO, Fla. — For some people, finding a way out of homelessness can seem like a never-ending loop.

Yasmine Arencibia, who was homeless locally for six years, had been living in her car since she was 19, showering at a gym and working at a fast-food restaurant. 

The Brighter Days Community Initiative at the Homeless Services Network helped Arencibia turn her life around.

But now funding cuts at the federal level put in jeopardy the Brighter Days program, which has helped provide a way for young people to get their footing, get off the streets and find a permanent housing solution.

The Trump administration’s budget for next year had proposed a more than $33 billion cut — or 44% — to the Department of Housing and Urban Development, which contributes $8.4 million out of its budget to pay for programs like Brighter Days. The federal tax and spending bill received final approval Thursday and was sent to Trump for his approval. It’s unclear whether those cuts were in the final budget.

According to HSN, over 1,500 unhoused young adults ranging from 18 to 24 years old sought help from the agency in the past year.

Those numbers are even more striking when factoring in homeless youth in the public-school districts in Orange, Osceola and Seminole counties.

HSN reported a total of 427 unhoused and unaccompanied students ages 16 and over for the 2023-24 school year.

These trends prompted organization leaders to devise a program that would “provide hope, help and housing to Central Florida’s 16 to 24-year-olds,” but it is now at risk.

Program workers help youth like Arencibia identify housing options and provide rental and deposit assistance. But in this case, she found the apartment herself.

The program has allowed Arencibia, now 25, to plan out her day. 

The apartment that she currently resides in has been provided to her through the Homeless Services Network ‘Brighter Days Community Initiative.’

“I have daily goals, weekly goals, monthly goals and eventually yearly goals so all of these lead up to what I want to achieve by the end of the year,” the Valencia College student said.

Her end-of-year goals are to become self-sufficient and one step closer to finding her forever home.

But Arencibia admits it took a lot to get to this point.

“Now she’s enrolled at Valencia, and she has more confidence. She is more determined to change her life and make it the way that she wants it to be versus feeling hopeless,” Homeless Services Network Project Coordinator Valerie Perez said.

Since Brighter Days’ launch last year, it has helped house more than 300 young people through Orange, Osceola and Seminole counties. When their household members are factored in, that’s over 500 individuals that have been supported through this initiative.

The Homeless Services Network’s annual Point-In-Time count showed a 29% drop of homeless youth ages 18 to 24 this year, which Chief Executive Officer Martha Are said is due to the Brighter Days initiative. 

The potential federal cuts to funding for Brighter Days are a concern to Arencibia.

“This program is more than just, ‘Oh I want to help you get housing.’ It’s more so like ‘I’m going to help you become a human being again’ because that’s how I feel now,” Arencibia said. “They have helped me professionally, they have helped me personally, I’ve grown as a person, I’ve grown as a young woman.”

Arencibia now has her sights set on big goals.

She said she hopes to become a journalist and help others who are in the same situation she was once in through motivational speaking and content creation.

“I’ve come a long way and I’m really proud of myself, and I’m still trying to get even further,” she said, smiling.

An HSN spokesperson said federal funding cuts would mean it would need even more support from the Central Florida community to keep the Brighter Days initiative afloat.