Matthew's Hope is scaling back daily services for people experiencing homelessness in Orange and Brevard counties after overspending its budget by roughly $468,000 over the past year, according to founder and CEO Scott Billue. The faith-based nonprofit's food pantry now carries less variety and fewer supplies, and Billue says more cuts could come before the end of 2026 if conditions do not improve.
Billue told WESH 2 News that a mix of rising food and fuel costs, declining donations, and a dramatic jump in demand forced the organization to pull back. The ministry, which provides medical and mental health care, transportation, food, and other services, now serves about 1,300 people each week and is registering roughly 100 new clients weekly, up from about 15 a week in past years. Billue said the nonprofit could not plan for that kind of influx, and it prioritized its cuts through the donation-supported food pantry rather than eliminating programs outright.
Wealthy Donors Pull Back as Markets Wobble
Part of the shortfall traces back to Matthew's Hope's reliance on individual donors. A donor has pulled back amid economic and market uncertainty, according to News 6 WKMG. The ministry operates as an independent, faith-based 501(c)(3), with taxpayer-funded grants making up about 6% of its budget.
That funding model has been strained before. Matthew's Hope has faced donation cutbacks across both locations. The Cocoa site was planned in May 2022, when the ministry announced its expansion into a second county, according to the West Orange Times & Observer. Matthew's Hope began in 2010 with a cold-weather temporary shelter at West Orange Church of Christ before growing into a regional, two-county provider.
Demand Surges Across Central Florida
The spike in new clients at Matthew's Hope mirrors what regional homelessness data has been showing all year. The Homeless Services Network of Central Florida reported that total regional homelessness held steady at 2,724 people even as more than 1,300 individuals sought housing assistance for the first time in a single month last spring, per WFTV. Seniors aged 55 and older and children under 18 now make up more than 40% of Central Florida's unhoused population, with adults 65 and older the fastest-growing group, the same data showed.
State law is also reshaping where people turn for help. Florida House Bill 1365 took effect in October 2024 and allowed civil lawsuits against local governments starting in January 2025 if public camping was permitted, prompting Orange County and nearby cities to pass strict public sleeping bans, as Hoodline previously reported. People experiencing homelessness have moved toward suburban and rural areas, making outreach more difficult.
An Affordability Gap Feeding the Crisis
Underneath the enforcement shift sits a housing market that offers little room for low-income residents to land safely. The National Low Income Housing Coalition's 2026 Gap Report ranked metro Orlando among the nation's worst housing markets for extremely low-income households, with only 13 affordable rental units available for every 100 families that need one, per the same WFTV report. A 2025 University of Florida Shimberg Center for Housing Studies analysis found multifamily rents statewide rose nearly 40% between 2019 and 2023, contributing to a nearly 30% rise in family homelessness across Florida, according to a report from Central Florida's Click Orlando.org affiliate covered separately by Central Florida Public Media.
Orlando-area housing costs remain a challenge for low-income residents, according to Central Florida Public Media. That affordability gap helps explain why so many working families and seniors on fixed incomes are showing up at Matthew's Hope for the first time.
Billue said Matthew's Hope had to pull back services simply to keep operating, and he expects the organization may make further cuts through the end of 2026 unless conditions quickly change. For now, the nonprofit is asking the community for help as it tries to stretch a stretched-thin food pantry and daily services across a client base that keeps growing faster than its budget can follow.
