End Homelessness in Okaloosa and Walton County

Together We Can Do This

At Homelessness & Housing Alliance (HHA) we believe that our community can end homelessness by working together to invest in affordable housing and implement best practices to help families and individuals in crisis.

As the lead agency for the Okaloosa Walton Continuum of Care (COC), we bring together homeless services providers, local government, law enforcement, behavioral health providers, hospitals, and affordable housing developers to ensure our community’s programs work in tandem to meet the immediate needs of our unhoused neighbors and to address long term drivers of homelessness.

HHA empowers the community through:

Assessment

We work to identify and bridge gaps in homeless services so that investments can be made in the areas of greatest need.

Resources

We secure resources for homeless service providers so they can meet the needs of families and individuals experiencing homelessness.

Best Practices

We foster leadership, collaboration, and best practices through monthly meeting and training materials.

Housing is absolutely essential to human flourishing. Without stable shelter, it all falls apart.

– Mathew Desmond

Our Philosophy: Housing First

Housing First is an approach to ending homelessness that prioritizes housing as the FIRST step in solving homelessness. Research has repeatedly shown that individuals and families are more successful addressing the challenges that led to their homelessness from the safety and security of their own home. The housing first model prioritizes preventing homelessness and rapidly rehousing those without a home as step one. The second step is stabilizing those families until they are no longer at risk. Our COC members offer services to help families and individuals:

  • Meet Crisis Needs: Emergency Shelter and Outreach Programs ensure unhoused families and individuals have their basic needs met while they look for housing.
  • Find/Retain Housing: All of our partners have housing counseling programs to help families find or retain housing. These programs support clients through the housing search process and provide financial support to prevent eviction or make relocation financially feasible.
  • Stabilize: The rapid rehousing and permanent supportive housing programs combine short term rental assistance with intensive counseling services to address the underlying issues that led to homelessness.

Through these programs, we are working together to ensure that homelessness in Okaloosa and Walton County is rare, brief, and nonrecurring.


In 2021 our members served:

517
Households
56
Veterans
1279
Individuals
394
Children
111
Chronically Homeless

Become a Part of the Solution

Invest in Solutions

By contributing to HHA you are are filling gaps, fostering collaboration, and bringing best practices to the organizations who are delivering services to families and individuals experiencing homelessness.

Become a Member

Does your organization serve unhoused individuals and families? Join the Continuum of Care for access to training, grant opportunities, and a network of professionals dedicated to ending homelessness.

Stay Informed

Sign up for our Constant Contact Mailing List so that you can stay up to date on new programs, opportunities to give, and the latest news on our community’s journey to make homelessness brief, rare, and nonrecurring.


Upcoming Events


Latest updates from HHA

Grant Proposals for 2022-2023 ESG-CV Program due June 2nd
Today HHA released an RFP for Emergency Solution Grants (ESG) in Okaloosa and Walton County. These grants, which are funded through the CARES act, fund the following programs: Street OutreachEmergency ShelterHomeless PreventionRapid Rehousing HHA will prioritize programs that embrace Housing First, emphasize rapidly existing people from homelessness, and prioritize permanent housing as the primary strategy …
HHA Releases 2022 Housing Needs Assessment
The Homelessness and Housing Alliance has released the 2022 Housing Needs Assessment and Analysis. The report analyzes data from the 2022 Point in Time Count, 2022 Housing Inventory Count, and the Homelessness Management Information System’s 2021 Performance Measures in order to assess the state of homelessness in Okaloosa and Walton County.  The Point in Time …
HHA received grant from CHELCO
HHA has received a $5,000 grant from the CHELCO Foundation Operation Round Up. We are very excited about how this will enable HHA to support our community in ending homelessness.

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