By Peter Covino
Entertainment Editor

The seemingly endless line snaked out the front door and almost around the corner, some people waiting with children under the hot sun.

But the line wasn’t for the newest iPhone or must-have toy. These were Osceola County residents, many of them homeless, looking for some kind of economic relief Friday at 192 Operation Outreach.

Inside the doors of The Rock Church on West U.S. Highway 192 was a one-stop clearinghouse for families in need of shelter, food stamps, health screenings, food pantries and more, all organized by various Osceola County government groups, churches and businesses.

That was the case for the Swanson family, who moved to the county from Chicago about a year ago.

Alicia Swanson had been working as a security guard and husband James was working in a warehouse when times got tough in Chicago. But the move to Osceola County didn't find the economic situation any better and soon the family found itself living in a motel and even worse, in their van.

“It has been really rough,” Alicia Swanson said, especially for their youngest daughter, who will start high school in the fall.

Cooking meals, trying to coordinate getting a ride on the school bus and just regular day-to-day living has been hard on the whole family, she said.

But things were looking a little brighter Friday afternoon after spending the morning at the outreach center.

“We know we have a house or at least an apartment,” James Swanson said, thanks to the community effort.

Danicka Ransom, housing manager for Osceola County, said Operation Outreach will probably help as many as 70 families like the Swansons because of Operation Outreach.

There were so many families with children in need, something had to be done, said Miriam Jbara, who is with the county's social services.

Considering how long that line was out the door, the community effort moved quite efficiently. The large building's interior was broken down into different sections — one area was organized to distribute bags of groceries and other items, as well as to offer access to applications for food stamps, utility companies and free resources for children, such as bicycle helmets, books, shirts and more. A second large area was for families in need of housing.

The outreach center offered everything from free night stays at area hotels and motels to free passes on Lynx buses and help with utility bills, Jbara said.

“We have everything in place to help people get into a house,” she said.

The housing area was one of the busiest in the building.

Families were interviewed to see what their needs were.

“There are so many people going through hard times," she said.

And often, it isn't even through any fault of their own. They have many cases where a family is paying rent in a home, but the owner's house goes under foreclosure and they have to move quickly.

“We get so many that can't afford to pay the deposit and rent to move somewhere else,” Jbara said.

Some of the hardest cases wind up at the Give Kids Safe Shelter table, run by Gene Terrico.

It is always important to make sure children have good living conditions, Terrico said, and even more so now with so many people under difficult economic times.

“Our focus is on long-range stability for families, so kids are safe,” he said.

The Gives Kids Safe Shelter table is often a last resort, but they will try to find safe shelter and even help with deposits for apartments and more.

Ransom said that even after only a few hours, Operation Outreach already had some success stories.

The county had about $75,000 from the State Housing Initiative Partnership, she said, and would probably spend it all to help families find housing at the outreach.

More than 45 community providers from local government, social services, faith-based agencies, Family Services of Metro Orlando and even Walt Disney World participated in the program.