Sculpture of homeless Jesus comes to downtown Orlando

A new piece of street art might catch your attention next time you’re in downtown Orlando.

It’s a life-sized sculpture of Jesus, and it depicts him as a homeless man.

Advocates hope it forces people to consider members of the population often ignored: the homeless.

The statue was placed in front of the First Presbyterian Church of Orlando on the route many people would take walking to the new Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts and in clear view of where many of Orlando’s homeless sit.

The pastor of the church said he hopes it will make people who see it startled and unsettled.

“It if our hope that they would stop and look upon it and they would consider the possibility of Jesus coming to the very deepest and darkest places of our human need,” said Dr. David Swanson. “The responsibility that we share to serve the least and the most vulnerable among us and consider the dignity and worth of all people because they are created in the image of God.”

Swanson is on the board of the Commission on Homelessness, which has an ambitious goal to end chronic homelessness, starting with trying to get homeless veterans in Orlando off the streets by the end of this year.

It involved government, business and the faith community.

“What that approach does is says, 'You don’t have to go through this program or that program to find housing,'” said Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer. “It takes individuals who may be residing in Lake Eola right now and puts them in permanent and supportive housing with support services they need to be successful.”

Members of the church donated $40,000 to bring the sculpture to Orlando.