One Hopeful Place in Fort Walton Beach is the primary shelter in Okaloosa County serving unaccompanied individuals and veterans experiencing homelessness.
- The non-profit operates a 50-bed shelter for men and a 11-bed shelter for women.
- During inclement winter weather, defined as 40 degrees or below, OHP provides temporary shelter for all those experiencing homelessness.
When COVID first started, individuals at the shelter were housed in an area that is now offices for OHP staff. For well over a year now, there hasn’t been a positive case at the shelter.
Now, One Hopeful Place has had to make an adjustment to how they operate with positive cases because they don’t have space inside the building for quarantining. This means that a COVID-positive person would have to leave the shelter.
- It also means that One Hopeful Place would incur additional costs associated with putting an individual in a hotel room.
“We had an individual that tested positive and would have to leave the shelter for 10 days,” said Robin Donlon, Board Member at One Hopeful Place. “That bothered me, so I reached out to UTS Systems in Fort Walton Beach because they make military grade, weatherproof tents. They were actually the company who provided the first tent when One Hopeful Place started, before we had the building.”
On Thursday afternoon, UTS Systems installed a 20ft x 34ft “expeditionary military shelter” next to One Hopeful Place’s main building.
“We don’t usually call it a tent just because it’s so big,” said Tom Eggers, UTS Systems. “It’s the same shelter that the Air Force, Army, Marine Corps and other installations are using in the field.”
According to Eggers, the tent (as we will call it) can house approximately 16 individuals and is outfitted with military medical service lights, hard flooring and with 2 space heaters, will be more than enough to keep people warm.
“They are a blessing,” said Donna Morgan, Director of One Hopeful Place. “Not only will be able to provide shelter here at One Hopeful Place, but they will still have access to the same things we provide in the main building. It really is going to make it better for everyone.”
