On Tuesday, November 19th the official groundbreaking of the kitchen facility at One Hopeful Place took place in Fort Walton Beach. The ceremony was help at the Phase II build site located at 1564 Percy L Coleman Road.

“Seeing construction begin on this project is a dream come true for our Board and staff.” says Nathan Monk, Executive Director of One Hopeful Place. “The impact this will make on the community is profound. Not only will this state-of-the-art kitchen provide meals for our clients and guests, but it will provide job skills training to help prepare people for the work force. We will be forever grateful to Fort Walton Beach Medical Center who donated a portion of the kitchen equipment to get the process started. The grant from IMPACT 100 was the match that lit the fire.”

In addition to the training provided through the kitchen, a catering service program is being developed to utilize the kitchen to create perpetual funding for the programs at the One Hopeful Place campus.

Amanda Gordon, Board President of IMPACT 100, says, “IMPACT 100 is proud to partner with One Hopeful Place, an organization that is compassionately and effectively addressing the critical issue of homelessness in our community.”

One Hopeful Place is a 20-bed men’s nonprofit facility located in Fort Walton Beach, Florida and currently the only operational emergency men’s shelter in Okaloosa County. It provides emergency shelter, individualized case management, food supplies, and hygiene facilities to all who are experiencing homelessness or in need. Upon the completion of Phase II, the shelter will operate as a 50-bed men’s facility as well as a separate 20-bed women’s facility.