By Lisa Woodram
In October, FWB Life introduced an organization called One Hopeful Place (OHP), that offers “A Hand up” to the homeless along with an invitation to attend their open house and ribbon cutting in November. More than one hundred attended to celebrate phase II of OHP, that being the Cold Night Shelter, fondly referred to as “the blue building!” OHP has actually been an ongoing endeavor, with the vision evolving and expanding from a temporary residential facility to adding a Day Program, a Cold Night Shelter, and on the horizon, Transitional Housing, in the form of tiny houses! The heart of its mission is being “the front door to permanent housing and providing an end to the cycle of homelessness” by educating and empowering the homeless through the community’s networking via finances and volunteers. This is accomplished by providing various programs such as life skills education, mental health treatment, detox assistance and counseling to name a few approaches.
Sherry Jones, the Community Public Relations Director of OHP stated that she has done extensive research on a national level to glean methods other communities have utilized to address homelessness. She noted that ultimately, OHP is completely unique in its approach to solve the homelessness concern. OHP apparently has become the first to use this combination of programs to impact this issue in such a profound and effective manner-what has been termed “a one-stop shop.” Sherry called OHP “History in the making,” potentially being a prototype for other communities to emulate!
Ted Corcoran, President and CEO of the Greater Fort Walton Beach Chamber of Commerce, officiated the Open House/Ribbon Cutting ceremony. He graciously recognized and thanked the numerous businesses, churches, people and the city who have contributed to this endeavor, without which OHP could not become a reality! Current and past residents of OHP had the opportunity to share their heartfelt gratitude (at times, tearfully) and positive experiences of the care and comradery the have found-and yes, restoration of hope to believe and pursue a better life with OHP’s hand up!
Walter Arrington, a previous homeless resident who successfully transitioned out of homelessness with the help of OHP (who is now completing his Master’s in social work) spoke and acknowledged that “anyone who lives on the streets wants help… [but]-they can’t do it themselves.”
He applauded donors of OHP who are “changing lives in a meaningful way and being fiscally responsible,” noting a statistic that a community’s cost of leaving a homeless person on the streets totals $30,000 to $66,000 per year as opposed to housing one at $7,500 per year!
Though more economical, it takes $25,000 per month for OHP to maintain the ongoing expenses to support the 69 full-time residents, run the Day Program and the Cold Night Shelter. Along with supporting the day-to-day operations, the vision for growth to complete the process to end homelessness must be kept in sight. To accomplish this, the next phase is to undertake the demolition of the sedimentation tanks, availing the land for tiny houses for residents to transition to their final phase in the process to independence. The quote for this is $25,000. OHP is appealing to churches to consider including this worthy cause in their 2023 budgets. If 25 churches contributed $10,000 each, the project would be a reality!Since Covid, the financial resources have considerably diminished. There are occasional grants from the county and city, but OHP is primarily dependent upon the continued generosity of the citizens and businesses of the community.
Ultimately, Ted appealed to the audience that their takeaway be “How can we help?” and to communicate this request to their businesses, organizations, churches, etc.
On that note, this article now carries this message to you, the reader. In the words of Bonnie Barlow, president and CEO of Bridgeway (partner with OHP), whose motto is, “How can we say yes?” “During this season of giving, I challenge you to find a way to financially support OHP. We will all be remembered for how we loved our neighbor, gave to others and how our existence made a difference to those in need.” Consider how you too could say “yes” to joining your community of heroes who have extended a hand up to the needy and vulnerable and create a legacy as a history maker!
Details of specific opportunities to make item donations, volunteer and financial contributions can be viewed at onehopefulplace.org.
