Warming Centers - City of Fort Smith
Volunteers Needed for the Annual Point in Time Count
Honor and Duty 5K June 4, 2022
Southern Nights Fundraiser
Sharon Chapman, New Executive Director
Homelessness is a serious challenge for veterans returning from service.
The growing problem in the River Valley has led the Next Stay Day Room to build a new 16-bedroom, two-story home for veterans. Construction on the Ralph T. “Buddy” Smith Home near North 9th and “E” in Fort Smith is expected to be complete by mid-April.
The home will provide supportive housing and a lifestyles program to help veterans get back on their feet. The hard construction costs of the home were covered by Community Development Block Grant funds administered through the City of Fort Smith, an Affordable Housing Grant from the Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas and a generous donation from the family of Ralph T. "Buddy" Smith.
For a donation of $5,000, you can sponsor a bedroom with a bronze door plaque that commemorates your commitment to ending homelessness.
A donation of $800 will go toward a purchase of a furniture package for one of the 16 bedrooms. That package includes a bed, mattress, dresser, small desk, chair, television and wall brackets.
Any gift will be greatly appreciated as we have exterior landscaping including a flagpole and light that needs to be installed.
Your gift will be integral in helping us finish out a home worthy of the men who wore our country’s uniform. These veterans come from all walks of life. There are no formulas for predicting which men will end up without a place to call home. Please help us. We’re almost there. Let’s take this “next step” together.
Ten beds will be dedicated to military veterans with coordinated case management through the Veteran's Administration. One room will go to a live-in resident assistant, and the rest of the beds there will be available for other homeless men.
Residents are required to save 80 percent of their money while living in the home. This will help the individual be able to be prepared for things like utility deposits, rental deposits or transportation once they graduate from the program
Sadly, 20% to 25% of all Americans facing homelessness are military veterans. Locally, it is slightly less, ranging from 14% to 16%, but it is still a significant problem.
