After roof collapse puts nonprofit at risk, Orlando community rallies to get it fixed

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  • Caroline Glenn
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United Against Poverty grocery store entrance in Orlando.
Credit: Orlando Sentinel

After the roof collapsed at a local nonprofit this summer, jeopardizing residents who have come to rely on the organization for groceries and medical care, the Orlando community came together to raise money for repairs.

For more than 22 years, United Against Poverty has been a place where those who are unhoused and struggling to make ends meet can go to for support. The organization serves as many as 550 people every day, operating out of an “extremely old” building on Michigan Avenue with a roof that’s been hit hard by recent storms and was “getting worse by the day,” the group said in an online post.

Damage from the collapse mostly impacted the organization’s crisis stabilization program, which served more than 1,300 households in 2022 through an urgent care clinic, food pantry and computer lab and also connects residents to social services and counseling.

Faced with a repair bill of nearly $240,000, United Against Poverty turned to the Orlando community for help. And in just a few weeks, groups and individuals from across Central Florida pitched in to help and ensure United Against Poverty could continue serving the area’s most vulnerable residents, at a time when homelessness is surging. AdventHealth was among them, the Orlando Sentinel reported.

“United Against Poverty is an invaluable organization for the Central Florida community and has become a beacon of hope for so many of our neighbors, tirelessly serving those in need. So as soon as we heard they needed help, we were proud to rally around them and do whatever we could to see them through this challenging time,” said Rob Deininger, CEO of AdventHealth Orlando and board member of United Against Poverty. “Witnessing the community unite for an organization that so selflessly uplifts others and extends compassion to our area’s most vulnerable residents is a powerful testament to what happens when we all work together.”

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