The video feeds told the story long before the official numbers came in: the double whammy of Helene and Milton gave neighborhoods across Florida a real thrashing. Tens of thousands of homes were destroyed or damaged by Helene alone, causing billions of dollars in damage. But there wasn’t even time to total that up before Milton came in, interrupting the tally and adding to the toll.
Social workers, of course, see the damage in terms of human lives and misery. And the dead and injured are the first priority. But with a big-picture view of the effects of natural disasters over time, Florida social workers also see the secondary effects that cause trouble for decades. In this case, that’s a decrease in the amount of housing in a state already facing a homelessness and housing insecurity crisis of epic proportions.
Fortunately for Florida’s displaced families, though, human services agencies are also stepping up to the plate to do something about it.
The Perfect Storm for Housing Insecurity in Florida
The lack of affordable housing for working-class and disadvantaged people is a problem in almost every state. But Florida faces some unique pressures that have social workers tearing their hair out even more than those in other corners of the country.
Hurricanes rampaging across the peninsula are much more likely to tear up affordable housing than homes in more affluent areas.
The increasing frequency and severity of Florida natural disasters has caused insurers to pull out of the state at an unprecedented rate. And since financing options are almost nonexistent in areas where homeowners can’t get insured, rebuilding often means coming out of pocket.
The same climate trends that are increasing the frequency and severity of hurricanes are also driving sea level rise that will flood out many coastal communities and reduce the amount of buildable land available.
With all the problems facing social workers looking for housing options for disadvantaged families, it’s nice to see the occasional success story. One of them is happening right now up in the City of Southern Charm in Jackson County: Marianna.
Housing Insecurity is a Problem in Both Urban and Rural Florida
A lot of the charm comes from the size. Only 60 some miles from Tallahassee, Marianna remains a small town of only around 6,000 residents.
Yet, like other parts of Florida, it’s seen increasing rates of homelessness, skyrocketing to an all-time high in 2024 according to the Florida Department of Health.
Although it’s well inland, Marianna is barely 150 feet above sea level.
In 2018, the city was hammered by Hurricane Michael, which damaged or destroyed more than 80 percent of the city’s homes and businesses. Folks compared it to being bombed. Recovery was slow, with many folks ending up staying in FEMA trailers for years. Of course, they were the lucky ones—some renters ended up living in their cars, evicted from storm-damaged housing and ineligible for FEMA assistance.
But natural disasters are only part of the problem. A poverty rate of 20 percent and increasing home prices also come together to lock people out of secure housing.
When you put it all together, no part of the state is safe, not even tight-knit Marianna.
Small-Town Connections Make a Difference When Dealing with State-Wide Problems
Small communities come together to deal with these problems. In Jackson and Washington counties, for more than 35 years, that help has come through the Chipola Area Habitat for Humanity branch.
Habitat for Humanity is a non-profit that supports partnership housing efforts around the world, but it only works through the efforts of smaller local groups that put that vision into practice. Chipola Habitat for Humanity has been recognized nationally for the work it’s done to develop Chipola Street properties. Putting up four homes in Marianna in partnership with Auburn University and Chipola College’s Workforce Development Program, it followed the Habitat model of relying on volunteer labor and low-interest loans, while expanding public-private partnerships.
While Chipola Habitat, by its nature, can’t offer a quick fix to the housing crisis, it can offer a durable one. And it turns out that it can do a lot of good along the way too.
While the Chipola Street development was a success, it was also only four houses. But a vacant chunk of land known as the Cook Property could hold more.
With 9 acres available, there’s room for considerably more housing, along with neighborhood amenities and retail shops, or even services. Located between Jackson Hospital and Chipola Community College, the site also puts prospective future owners in a great spot for walkable access to solid paying jobs and the potential for higher education.
Yet a larger site with more varied housing types and other kinds of services represents a different kind of challenge than small in-fill developments. It calls for a higher level of expertise and project planning skills than the organization has ever had to use before.
Putting out a request for proposals for a site development master plan in 2023 was the first step.
Restorative Justice is Being Built into the Construction Process
Of course, as part of the larger Habitat for Humanity organization, Chipola Habitat also brings in the tenets of restorative justice in keeping with the Habitat ethos. Some 6,100 volunteer hours have been put into building out the sites. Funding comes through donations and materials from destroyed homes that would otherwise go into landfills are being sold through the affiliated ReStores in Chipley and Marianna.
Not only is Chipola Area Habitat creating more affordable housing options, but they are doing so using methods that work toward righting historic wrongs.
Fitzgerald Collaborative out of Tallahassee is doing the development work on the Cook Property. As a certified Minority Business Enterprise, this ensured that the design work would be overseen by a Black architect, building in a predominantly Black community.
Fitzgerald Collaborative is known for community collaborative projects. They have a commitment to meeting community needs and including the community in their process.
Big developments like Cook Street are years in the making. Yet even before the process concludes, it is paying social justice dividends to Florida communities. And when it is finished, the housing units and new businesses it provides will have a generations-long impact on the lives of people who call Jackson County home.