Just one month after the Orlando City Council unanimously approved the purchase of two Dignity Buses for their city, The Source, with great pride and excitement, share that the contract between Orlando and The Source is official and the launch of the build process is underway. That’s right! The Source’s Dignity Bus program is officially expanding to Orlando, FL. Their two buses will be named 407 Connect… a nod to the Orlando area code and a symbol of connection, compassion, and care.
In actuality, this expansion is the 7th retrofitted Dignity Bus to be in circulation as a means to provide a safe and secure overnight shelter for those who would otherwise sleep on the streets. Currently, Vero Beach has three buses in use nightly, offering a total of 55 beds (or sleeping pods as they are named). Woonsocket, Rhode Island has been operating one bus, and another bus is operating in Kankakee County, Illinois, both retrofitted by The Source since 2023. One of Vero Beach’s buses is being used in Orlando temporarily as an example for training purposes, so their personnel will be “up to speed” once their buses are completed and delivered to them this July. A public celebration and launch of the two new buses will be held at a future time and place to be announced.
Both of Orlando’s buses are ADA compliant, complete with a handicapped lift on the vehicle, making it only the second and third fully accessible Dignity Bus in the country. (The first was built for Kankakee County, Il.) These buses will also be equipped with 21 sleeping pods each, averaging one more sleeping pod in each bus than most of the others. The “bus builders” have made some slight modifications with the shoe storage that is typically situated in the rear of each bus; that is to construct enough space under each bed to store passenger shoes, thus allowing space for an additional bed.
Other standard features on these redesigned, previously used 45-foot motor coaches, are to provide a custom-made climate-controlled interior, individual sleeping pods with privacy curtains, a USB port, an individual light, a lockable door, a private bathroom facility, under-bus storage, pet pods for companion animals, monitored CCTV surveillance and for the colder climate, like used in RI, an electric fireplace added by the entrance to the bus for extra heating as passengers enter the vehicle.
It took the team of The Source’s “bus builders” some creative thinking towards offering not just a place to rest, but a path towards stability and healing. What began in 2021, during the peak of the pandemic, became a blueprint of experience, with a keen understanding of the community that would be utilizing this temporary “bed on wheels,” and how a Dignity Bus could essentially change the future for these passengers. Like Vero Beach, FL, Woonsocket, RI and Kankakee County, IL, and now Orlando, FL…it’s called leading by experience. This is what a bold action looks like, and when done correctly, it totally changes people’s lives for the better.
The Source is contacted from cities country-wide who are interested in the concept of Dignity Bus as a way to combat their individual needs in this widespread global housing shortage. The Source is not only about producing and selling buses. They are dedicated to working with cities and non-profits whose goals are to end homelessness in their individual community.
I am Ministries, DBA The Source is a Christian social outreach ministry that has been empowering communities into a lifestyle of service for the homeless since 1995. Founded in Indian River County, the organization serves its homeless neighbors through a myriad of core programs and services that instill a sense of community. For more information on The Source and Dignity Bus, contact Executive Director Anthony Zorbaugh or Development Director Jonathan Orozco at 772-564-0202, or visit www.iamthesource.org .
