Welcome, and thank you for your interest in those who are homeless or are “precariously housed,” families all too close to the prospect of losing jobs, homes, and health.

The Okaloosa Walton Homeless Continuum of Care/ Opportunity, Inc. serves as the lead agency for the homeless in Okaloosa and Walton Counties. This means our organization collects data from our network of 129 service providers, a homeless point-in-time count, and from concerned citizens. This data provides us information on the extent and of homelessness, its causes and impact on personal lives and the community, and enables our network to determine the best use of existing resources, and to work for those resources for which we have the most urgent need.

Opportunity, Inc. hosts monthly forums throughout the region, which serve as a forum for community stakeholders interested in new and existing resources, allowing them to share concerns and look for solutions. Recent meetings provided a platform for the Department of Children and Families to recruit partners who can ease those in need in accessing mainstream benefits; to introduce new Families Count program for homeless teens; to instruction on how to build quick and affordable shelter through Styrofoam. Speakers have represented the Muscogee Nation headquartered in Bruce, Florida; the Department of Health; Okaloosa Walton Child Care Services; the Okaloosa County School District; JobsPlus; and veterans’ groups.

Services are linked through Opportunity, Inc.’s Homeless Management Information System, which allows service providers to record data useful in tracking numbers seen, outcomes, what works and what doesn’t.

Opportunity, Inc. writes for specific federal and state grants designated for distribution to our two-county region, and uses a competitive bidding process to determine how funds are allocated. We offer courses in grant-writing along with highlighting potential grants that service providers can apply for on their own.

Committees and staff create protocols for best practices in health and safety, social services, and administration. Training in these areas, along with homeless management information systems, are held on an as-needed basis.

In addition to its work as lead agency for the Continuum of Care, Opportunity Inc. offers emergency shelter to women and families at Opportunity Place; to employment services for homeless female veterans and veterans with families through the U.S. Department of Labor Homeless Veterans Reintegration Program; to resource and referral at our offices in Crestview and Walton County. More information on these programs can be found using the tabs on our website.

To find out where to get help, check out our resource directory here, listing all area service providers along with a brief description of their services and contact information. To find out when and where services are available at any given time, check out our calendar here. To link to any of our member agencies, please click on our links here.

For further information, please call 850-409-3070.