Rebuild Bay County opens first transitional housing home in Panama City
BAY COUNTY, Fla. (WMBB) – Rebuild Bay County is a long-term disaster recovery organization that started after Hurricane Michael.
On Thursday, members opened their first transitional home to provide temporary housing for disaster victims.
The goal is for the home to fill in the gap for Bay County residents in a transitional period.
Rebuild Bay will provide up to six months of shelter for individuals and families actively working to secure permanent housing or repair an uninhabitable home.
On 900 East 9th Court in Panama City, sits a new house that will help assist community members in need.
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Habitat for Humanity spent the past two years building the three-bedroom, two-bath home that can house three individuals or a family.
After tornadoes hit Bay County last year on January 9, Rebuild Bay saw a need for more transitional housing.
'We have quite a few people in Panama City, in Bay County, that are working every day and just will experience something where they may have a death in the family that just puts their permanent housing situation at risk. And they may need just a little bit more time to kind of stabilize that position or get back into a permanent housing situation,' Rebuild Bay County Executive Director Donna Pilson said.
The temporary home will help eliminate the barriers for individuals who are trying to recover from disaster.
'If you have a lot of things on your, on your plate, if you are concerned about bills, insurance or whatever, being able to provide a place that you can come in that's warm, that's dry, that's safe for you to be able to get yourself to get things together that takes that burden off their mind and allows them to be able to take that next step,' Pilson added.
The home is designed to house someone who has recently experienced a disaster and plans to move out.
'We are not ruling out the homeless population. I would just say that that's not our target our target population for this particular program. We the ideal program participant will be someone that has a plan,' Pilson said.
Rebuild Bay is also working with Panama City Rescue Mission to open up an emergency shelter for the homeless population.
To live in the home, participants must be a Bay County resident, employed, and show a verifiable need. And they have to pay a program fee between $500 and $750.
Rebuild Bay is about to begin taking applications. Those selected can begin moving on June 1.
To apply, visit the A.D. Harris Learning Village or call their office at (850) 481-1357.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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