Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Pulse assistance center seeks new management after funding vetoed
The Orlando United Assistance Center — created four years ago to help survivors of the Pulse nightclub shooting — is looking for new management as it continues to struggle to find funding.
The Heart of Florida United Way, which has managed the center for the past four years, is seeking a “letter of interest” from organizations able to provide the long-term care that clients said in a recent survey is most important.
United Way officials say the issue isn’t money, although the move comes after the Legislature appropriated only $50,000 for the center — less than a 10th of what was requested. And that spending was vetoed late last month by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.
Ray Larsen, the United Way’s vice president of community impact, said his agency will continue to provide some funding to the center, but that it “made sense” for an organization with expertise in addressing mental health needs to manage it.
In an independent survey earlier this year of 115 people — most of whom were survivors, loved ones of the 49 victims, first responders or Pulse employees — 70% cited mental health counseling as their main concern.
“Our community made a commitment to those that were impacted — the survivors and families — back in 2016,” Larsen said. “And we need to continue to make good on that commitment.”
The center has been a collaboration between the local United Way, the city of Orlando, Orange County and Osceola County. But it has been managed by the United Way.
State Rep. Carlos Guillermo Smith, D-Orlando, who led the effort to get state funding for the assistance center, said he supports the United Way’s move.
“Obviously it’s important that they select the right provider,” Smith said. “And I’m always going to be concerned about financial support. [Survivors] are vulnerable. As time goes by, for many, the pain doesn’t dissipate. Sometimes it gets worse.”
Any organization interested in managing the center has until Aug. 5 to formally notify the United Way. The transition itself should take place before the end of the year, Larsen said.
George Wallace, executive director of The Center Orlando, said his agency may apply.
“We’re already serving people who are survivors,” Wallace said. “And based on what we learned from the survey, the things people want are the things we do well.”
More than 500 people have sought help through the assistance center since it opened.