FORT WALTON BEACH, Fla. — For years there has been a nationwide shortage of affordable housing. Florida isn’t exempt.
Data from the National Low Income Housing Coalition shows a shortage of more than 410,000 affordable rentals in the state.
Bridgeway Center is working to combat the shortage in Okaloosa County. Friday morning the center broke ground on new transformative housing.
Organizers say this project is more than just housing. They say it’s helping build a stronger future as safe, affordable housing is crucial to having a healthy community.
“It’s more than just housing,” said Bonnie Barlow, president and CEO of Bridgeway Center. “It’s dignity.”
What’s a mound of dirt now on Lewis Street in Fort Walton Beach will soon be transformed into supportive housing. Bridgeway Center is working with Archway Partners to build Willow Way Village.
“This will provide 72 units of safe, stable homes with wraparound services, helping residents move from crisis to stability and from surviving to thriving,” Barlow said.
The housing will be used to address homelessness in the area and provide a safe place to live for people with disabilities, homeless veterans, people with substance abuse and mental illness, and families that have fallen on hard times.
“All of us know in our community, like every community in this country, has challenges with affordable housing, homelessness, mental health,” State Rep. Pat Maney said.
Stephanie Gagliano, the director of Treatment for Individuals Experiencing Homelessness (TIEH), says it’s extremely difficult for anyone to find housing right now, let alone people who are homeless or have disabilities.
“The lack of affordable housing,” said Gagliano. “A lot of the clients have criminal history and mental health issues, substance use disorder, and most places don’t want to rent to them.”
“They deserve safe and stable housing, and everybody deserves a safe place,” she said.
The project spent five years in the making because of funding issues and grant rejections. But Barlow says they never gave up. Majority of the project is paid for through the Florida Housing Finance Corporation and other investments.
The persistence was for good reason as she says there’s already a waiting list of people wanting to call Willow Way Village home.
“The tenants that will live here, the price is based on their income,” Archway Partners VP Chris Savino said.
Savino says tenants will have an area median income of 22-60%.
“Lower income folks, the rents will range from $326 a month to upward of 1,000 a month,” said Savino.
Seventy-two units is a great start, but the work isn’t done.
“This is going to open the doors for other projects like this to be built to help more people in our community,” said Gagliano.
Gagliano hopes this project inspires others.
“Especially when they see that this is a reputable housing,” Gagliano said. “It’s clean. It’s going to be very attractive. And it’s going to show the community that all these clients deserve this.”
