For three years, the vision has been taking shape. On Thursday morning, the City of Pensacola and Re-Entry Alliance Pensacola celebrated a milestone years in the making with the grand opening of New Horizons Village, a new transitional housing community.
The project designed to help people experiencing homelessness move from life on the streets toward stability and permanent housing
Located in Pensacola, New Horizons Village is part of the City of Pensacola’s Pallet Shelter Program.
The community features 14 climate-controlled pallet shelter units designed to meet Florida’s building and wind codes, along with an onsite restroom and shower facility.
But the goal goes far beyond providing a roof.
Two case managers will work directly with residents, helping connect them with employment opportunities, medical and mental health referrals, Supplemental Security Income, Social Security Disability Insurance and other resources they need to build a more stable future.
Applications for 30 pallet shelter spaces have already been processed through Opening Doors Northwest Florida, with residents expected to begin moving in the week of Aug. 17.
And New Horizons Village is just getting started.
REAP plans to add another 14 units to the site as part of a second phase, creating even more opportunities for people to move out of homelessness and into a safe place they can call home.
The concept is simple: provide a safe and dignified place to live, connect people with the services and resources they need, help them find work and begin saving money, and ultimately help them transition into permanent housing.
For Connie Bookman, founder of Pathways for Change and the mother of Pensacola Mayor D.C. Reeves, Thursday’s grand opening represented much more than the opening of a housing community.
It was the culmination of a vision she said the mayor refused to abandon, even when the idea faced resistance.
“On this incredible day, three years in the making, these pallet shelter homes are taking people out of the woods and into a 70-square-foot facility that is their home. It’s a miracle for them,” Bookman said.
Bookman, who also serves as the Opening Doors Continuum of Care leadership chair, said Reeves’ determination was evident from the beginning.
“When we talked about pallet shelters out of Washington State, there was a lot of pushback from people saying, ‘We’re not doing this. This is not popular,'” she said. “And D.C. said, ‘It is the right thing to do.'”
Bookman said the approach reflects a different way of thinking about homelessness — one that focuses not simply on providing another shelter bed, but on creating a pathway out of homelessness.
“Our shelters are full for a reason, because people have nowhere to go,” she said. “So let’s get them in recovery. Let’s get them a job, and let’s move them into a place that’s decent and that they can feel proud of.”
The ultimate goal, she said, is to give residents the opportunity to “gather some resources and start saving some money, and then move out, finally, to their own place.”
“This was a vision that we had, and D.C. was our guardian angel for that,” Bookman said. “He’s like, ‘We’re doing this.”
The project is part of a larger effort to expand access to shelter and supportive services throughout the community. In 2025, REAP was one of two nonprofits selected by the City of Pensacola to receive funding through the American Rescue Plan Act, part of a $1 million city investment aimed at expanding shelter access and life-changing services.
“This is how we create real solutions to homelessness,” Mayor Reeves said. “By collaborating with our community partners at REAP, Opening Doors, Community Health Northwest Florida and more, we can create pathways to stability, opportunity, and the prospect of a better future.”
New Horizons Village is expected to be one more piece of that pathway, providing not just a place to sleep, but a place to begin again.
Applications for New Horizons Village are available through Opening Doors Northwest Florida: https://www.odnwfl.org
