Our Impact

Fort Walton Beach Police Department’s annual Winter Wonderland event was held on December 12 and 13, 2025, at the Destin-Fort Walton Beach Rigdon Center.  The Winter Wonderland community event was a heartwarming success that brought together families, veterans, and community members in a spirit of unity, hope, and celebration. Sponsored by the Fort Walton Beach Police Department and supported by Panhandle Warrior Partnership along with dedicated community partners, the event

A strong community is built on supporting one another, especially as our parents age and their mobility changes.    Roberta called Dine Naazbaa Partnership on behalf of her father when his health issues started to affect his mobility. Her father, Robert, is an Army veteran and was in need of a motorized wheelchair due to no longer being able to walk or stand for long periods of time, which also left him stuck in the house and unable to connect with others.  

Most of us experience the pressure of trying to make the holiday season perfect – finding the perfect gifts, making the perfect recipes, and having the perfect holiday photos taken for a greeting card. For some, there's the feeling of just trying to get by and making an attempt to end the year on a better note. 

Life changed without warning for Nicole, a pre-9/11 United States Army veteran. She served from 1987 to 1990, never imagining that decades later she would find herself fighting a very different kind of battle. Now living in Colorado, she was referred to America’s Warrior Partnership (AWP) by Wounded Warrior Project after a sudden medical emergency upended the stability she had worked hard to build.

Alaskan winters are relentless, with long stretches of darkness, subzero temperatures, and storms that test even the toughest residents. When your hot water heater goes out in the middle of it all, something that might feel like an inconvenience elsewhere quickly becomes a real hardship. 

Caregiving for a parent can put a quiet but heavy strain on your own life. Balancing the desire to support someone you love while trying to keep up with rent, utilities, and everyday bills often means making sacrifices and falling behind. What starts as doing the right thing can slowly become overwhelming, as the cost of caregiving adds pressure to an already tight budget. 

Getting a disability rating updated through the Veterans Affairs office can be a long and frustrating process, often requiring months of gathering paperwork, medical records, and supporting statements. Each form and appointment takes time, follow-ups, and careful attention to detail, especially when records come from multiple providers. 

Panhandle Warrior Partnership is proud to share the inspiring journey of a local veteran whose life was transformed through dedicated support, persistence, and community partnership. 

What started as a free concert ticket ended as a new job! A veteran searching for meaningful work found a powerful full-circle moment in being hired as a career advisor with firsthand experience, and now helps guide others through the same transitions they once faced.