ORLANDO, Fla. — The sites and sounds of progress are paramount in historic Parramore, from education at the University of Central Florida\Valencia College Downtown Campus currently under construction, to the new housing that's going in at Parramore Oaks.

It all means jobs and opportunities. But not everyone feels they are getting a piece of the prosperity pie.

Parramore residents Cecilia Caldwell and her husband Joe have big dreams.

"Me and my husband want to be truck drivers," Caldwell said. 

"Our day-to-day struggle is to like, trying to do what we can to keep a roof over our head. There are some nights that we have to sleep on the street," Caldwell said.

And that makes it tough to get up and go to work, but the couple is holding onto hope, hoping to qualify for more stable housing at Parramore Oaks, which is right across the street from their workplace.

"That's our biggest thing, is where we're going to sleep and take care of our hygiene everyday, and that just makes it rough," Caldwell said.  

The couple works for the staffing company KBI, which stands for "Keeping Bodies in Motion."   

Kenneth Hughes and his wife Tiffany own the business and say they can clearly see the struggle Cecilia Caldwell and so many other workers face on a daily basis.

"The negative, I think, as we see across the country is gentrification," Hughes said.

The couple live and work in the area too.

"I'm OK with Parramore being cleaned up," Hughes said. "I'm not OK with all the residents of Parramore being forced out." 

They're making it their mission to make sure their clients can survive, make it to work and can find stable housing.

"If we're looking at home ownership, you have more renters than you have homeowners," Hughes said.

Hughes likes the improvements popping up in Parramore but is concerned. 

"Even with Creative Village coming, the issue for residents is going to be the cost of living," Hughes said.

That's why he feels many of the people of Parramore are being left out of progress.

"For the people that have lived there for umpteen years, they're going to have to actually find someplace where they can actually live and I don't think that's fair," Hughes said. 

For Caldwell and her husband, their home address changes weekly as they try to keep a room at a nearby weekly motel. While filming this story the couple learned they didn't have enough money to secure a room before payday and so slept on the street, in the shadows as the progress in Parramore continued to hammer along.

"I can just see that this is going to come to an end soon and it's going to be our turn to lead a good life," Caldwell said. 

Meanwhile, Kenneth and Tiffany Hughes are hoping to expand their office space, so that they can offer specialized training to their clients to prepare them for future careers.

 

Find Resources for Education, Work, Housing in Parramore

KBI Staffing Solutions is located at  711 South Parramore Avenue in Orlando and can be reached  at 407-416-4836. 

KBI has partnered with Royal American to provide space to serve applicants and potential Parramore Oaks residents. You have to fill out an interest form online first and then appointments are scheduled.  

If you have professional experience in construction, you can contact Votum Construction, LLC at 407-704 1743. They're looking for engineers and superintendents.

If you're interested in purchasing one of the new homes that the construction company is building along South Lee Avenue and McFall in Parramore, contact Orlando Commissioner Regina Hall's office at 407-246-2005.

You can also contact Commissioner Hall's office about employment and educational opportunities at the University of Central Florida\Valencia College Downtown Campus.