Summer of Lost Hopes

This has been the summer of lost hopes. The recession and loss of jobs in tourism and fishing have left many young families destitute. Older individuals and couples struggling to maintain jobs and housing have been literally dumped into the streets, where they live in cars or tents. On any given day, 28 people look for rooms at Opportunity Place that are not there. Most of these are children.

Responding to a call from Sen. Bill Nelson’s office, the staff at Opportunity, Inc. collected data for a single point in time, not just on people served, but people calling or coming in requesting service. These calls came into the offices in Crestview, DeFuniak Springs, and Opportunity Place in Fort Walton Beach.

On August 30, 65 persons needed emergency shelter. There was room for 34. Sixty-two households were facing loss of utilities. There were funds available to help nine of them. Forty-seven families came with notices of eviction. Again, we had funds to help nine. Thirty-seven families needed food. Food baskets went out to a different set of nine. Thirteen people asked for services we do not provide, such as health care and mortgage assistance. We provided referrals for each of these.

These numbers are not an aberration, nor are they unique to Opportunity, Inc. On that same day, Sharing and Caring in Crestview provided food to 97 families. Tri-County in Fort Walton Beach took applications for rent and utility assistance from another 92 families.

The women and families who come to us by and large will work hard to provide a life for their children if given the opportunity. For those who show up at the right time on the right day, the opportunity is often there. Ninety percent of our shelter residents leave Opportunity Place with a job and secure housing. But most do not get that chance. There is very little room in the inn right now.

Melinda came to Opportunity Place six months pregnant, with a 19-month-old girl. She had no job, no money, and no friends or family. But she had a goal: to make a life for her growing family. And she came at a good time. We had space available.
Through JobsPlus and Okaloosa Walton Child Care Services, she secured child care for her toddler. Through Opportunity Place, she got the contacts for a job. She knew she had three months to save enough money to have her baby and care for her small family for those first precious few weeks after the baby’s birth. She decided she didn’t need a cell phone, or minutes, or sodas, or new shoes. She saved every penny, and at the end of three months, had $2,000 in the bank.

Melinda had her baby boy on August 5. On August 9, they moved into their own home, with the financial security to get them through the next six weeks. Soon, Melinda returns to work, while her children attend safe, secure, quality child care programs.
We often dismiss the homeless as a handful of panhandlers who cause distress to many in the downtown area. These are real people also, with mental health and substance abuse issues that are often virtually incurable. But out of the 2040 homeless people in Okaloosa and Walton Counties, the numbers they represent are but a rounding error.

The tragedies among the homeless concern those who have been dropped out of the economy and cannot find their way back in. Some of them are nearing retirement age, and may never find another job. Others graduated from high school and college and have been unemployed or underemployed ever since. And some of them are babies and toddlers, whose lives are being blighted by disruption and despair.

My job is joyful. Everywhere I go, I meet families who have encountered homelessness, and prevailed. Melinda’s story is one of many tales of triumph over adversity. The churches, non-profits and individuals working with her colleagues need your help to create a few more.