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Orange County leaders work to find solutions at Regional Affordable Housing Summit

ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — The Regional Affordable Housing Summit wrapped up Thursday afternoon at the Orange County Convention Center.

Channel 9's Sarahbeth Ackerman spoke with local leaders who said the need for cheaper housing in Orlando is so high, it's vital that they find a solution.

"We need to explain to our citizens that every mom and dad who is working for a living and raising a child needs a place to live,” said Orange County Mayor Teresa Jacobs.

Deron Worthington, who has been living in affordable housing for a few months said the reduced rent has helped him out tremendously.

"There aren't really a lot of jobs that are paying that much, so it will really help out for people who can only work certain hours who maybe have kids or something or maybe have another job or school or something,” Worthington said. "It just gives people who are maybe going through a hard time, (it) gives them a place to live. So they don't have to be in a bad situation or live on the streets or anything."

Mitchell Glasser, the manager of Orange County Housing and Community Development, said it's vital to help people in the community get the housing they need and can afford.

"Especially in our rental housing. Our rents have almost doubled in the last three to four years, and so people are having a difficult time finding places that are affordable (so) that they can live and work in our community," Glasser said.

Planners, developers and local government leaders across Central Florida came together to discuss a way to remedy the problem. The goal of Thursday's summit was to discuss solutions for an ever-changing and growing population.

"Based on the wage scales of individuals that move here, it's just always growing, and so our needs are very strong right now,” Glasser said.

One way to move forward is to build more housing. Orange County was recently awarded $2 million in housing funds to develop more affordable places to live, and identifying locations for that future development is key.

"I mean, the fact is most of us started at a much lower level than we are today, and if we can't help each other as citizens in this community and lift each other up and give each other a chance, then we aren't who we say we are," Jacobs said.

Developers will look for locations near public transportation routes and other community services to help families transition.