A ‘piece of tranquility': Destin's Hosanna House to give abused women a chance to start over

Too often, the women who walk out the door of an abuse shelter step right back into the life they are trying to leave behind. That is until they find their way to the front door of Hosanna House, a 20-year-old dream that is finally coming to life for founders Jerry and Claire Ogle.

“At this point we hope to be open in six weeks,” Jerry said on Thursday.

The pair behind Harvest House, Destin’s oldest charity, has been putting food and clothing into the hands of those in need since 1987.

But something was missing.

“God began to show us that we needed to have a place to make a serious change,” Jerry said.

Many of the women seeking aid from Harvest House over the years have had another need the organization was not prepared to handle.

Now in the home stretch, the “transitional, residential facility for women” is almost complete and ready to give women broken by abuse and neglect a new lease on life through “a holistic, Christ-centered approach.”

“When you’re dealing with human beings, you’re dealing with great complexity,” Claire said.

The journey to get Hosanna House operational has been just that — complex.

Construction of the new facility has run into many snags over the past two years, yet they have overcome each one by what they believe is a little divine intervention. The Ogles have pressed forward through zoning issues, soaring construction prices and a funding promise gone bad.

Relief arrived in 2006, when Hosanna House acquired the site on the corner of Forest Street and Calhoun Avenue from retiring Pastor Phil Troullos of the old Family Christian Fellowship Church.

Troullos sold the church's building and the property to the organization for $450,000, well below market value.

“We considered that a sovereign act of God,” Jerry said.

Fast forward and the dust is just about ready to settle around the strong magnolia trees in front of the building that’s been changed from the inside out.

The metamorphosis that the building has been through is a theme the couple hopes to instill in the women who come to the brand new Hosanna House for healing and a fresh start.

“We’ve tried to make this a beautiful place,” he said. “When women come here, they will feel that they’re worth something new and shiny.”
Claire added that this will make women coming from a place where they’ve been put down begin to believe that “maybe I am worthy, maybe I can change.”

Just as they have gutted and rewired the outdated structure, Clair said Hosanna House’s main objective will be to help women bounce back with a new way of living and thinking.

This can only happen after these women have taken refuge at an emergency facility, such as Shelter House in Fort Walton Beach. They must then be placed in a temporary shelter with the goal of getting out of a pattern of abuse for good.

That is the difference for Hosanna House. Shelters are the short-term solution, and Hosanna House is a launching pad for a new life that offers physical, emotional and spiritual healing.

The methods for restructuring new lives will vary from one woman to another, with the end goal of setting them all free with job and life skills.

When a new applicant arrives, a part of the screening process is a two week stay in a “transition room” to “see if we’re right for them and they’re right for us.”

A requirement at Hosanna House is a commitment from the victim to making permanent changes in their lives, “so they can be proficient and independent in the community when they leave here.”

To help ensure this, the women will have access to a computer room with four stations to help them progress with school, such as earning their GED, taking online courses or learning new job skills.

The women will live in a quaint dormitory that can accommodate 16 women, or a combination of women and small children.

The dorm has a large kitchen, living space and dining area. Four bedrooms each have two twin beds, and two larger bedrooms will sleep more occupants.

In addition to a safe place to sleep, Hosanna will minister to their residents by introducing them to Christ and holding worship in a new chapel that seats 100 people. Spiritual healing is one of the most important factors they hope the changed women will walk away with.

The grounds at Hosanna, once completed, will embrace nurturing surroundings with a sprawling vegetable and flower garden for the women to relax in, and a playground for their little ones.

“It will be a real piece of tranquility here,” Jerry said, his eyes scanning the lot.

The Ogles predict that most women will need a four to six month stay. Hosanna has a team of “gifted volunteers” and Sacred Heart doctors to provide the necessary services.

To date, Hosanna House is debt free and Jerry said they intend to open that way. He estimates the facility could run on less than $200,000 a year and hopes to establish a relationship with area churches that share their vision, in order to keep their program Christ based.

“We’re down to fumes on what we need right now,” Jerry said.

So far, private donations and a handful of Destin churches have forked over the $500,000 that has already gone into starting the mission.

He stressed that a Christ-centered place to heal must be run on private and community support. Government grants would alter the vision.

“We can’t leave out Christ, because that’s the only way these women will make it,” he said.