In Bithlo, help is literally pulling up to the curb. Orange County has doubled on-site addiction treatment at Transformation Village by adding county-run mobile services, so medication-assisted treatment will now be offered four days a week. The Better Access to Treatment (BAT) mobile unit will roll onto the campus on weekdays, widening the tiny clinic’s reach for people with unstable housing. County and nonprofit partners say the added days are designed to chip away at the practical barriers that often keep residents from getting care at all.
According to Orange County Health Services, the BAT mobile unit began visiting Transformation Village on April 27 and will be on-site every Monday and Tuesday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. The county says the mobile team will provide free primary care, mental-health counseling, HIV and hepatitis C testing, and addiction-recovery services through a partnership with a local nonprofit.
Meeting people where they are
As reported by Orlando Weekly, the county’s investment will allow Transformation Village to expand medication-assisted treatment from two midweek days to four total days. Dr. Thomas Hall, director of the Orange County Drug-Free Coalition, told the paper, “If we want to save people’s lives, you know, this is where you do it,” and Transformation Village founder Tim McKinney said the community now has “basically universal support” from all levels of government. County data cited in the story show more than 1,000 East Orange County residents facing housing instability or limited access to essential care.
STEPS, Inc., the nonprofit partnering on the mobile unit, lists medication-assisted treatment among its core programs and says its mobile clinics provide comprehensive substance-use care as well as HIV/STI screening and care coordination. STEPS’ outreach model is built around meeting people where they are, with low-barrier services for groups the organization says are often wary of traditional clinics.
Orange County’s Opioid Settlement Funds advisory committee has been steering settlement dollars toward local outreach and treatment projects, including approved funding for outreach support specialists at Transformation Village and planning for MAT transports from hospitals and the jail. Committee minutes show officials have prioritized projects that connect people returning from emergency or justice-system settings with ongoing care at community sites.
Per the Orlando Weekly report, the county is drawing on national settlements with opioid distributors and manufacturers to pay for those efforts, and expects to receive between $50 million and $60 million through 2040, with initial payments beginning in 2023. Officials told the paper they plan to spread the dollars across treatment, prevention, and housing-related supports that address the root causes of overdose risk.
Medication-assisted treatment is a widely endorsed, evidence-based approach for opioid use disorder. Clinical guidance and systematic reviews have found that buprenorphine and methadone are associated with roughly a 50 percent reduction in overdose and all-cause mortality compared with no medication, which underscores why local leaders argue that immediate, low-barrier access matters. Reviews from the National Center for Biotechnology Information emphasize that timely initiation and continuity of MAT save lives.
The BATmobile schedule at Transformation Village (18415 11th Avenue) adds Monday–Tuesday mobile coverage to the campus’ existing midweek clinic services, creating near-weeklong access for people who live in Bithlo or who are unhoused in east Orange County. For more information about local services, contact STEPS at (407) 522-2144 or visit STEPS, Inc.
