Warming Centers - City of Fort Smith
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Honor and Duty 5K June 4, 2022
Southern Nights Fundraiser
Sharon Chapman, New Executive Director
Amid pushback from a Fort Smith nonprofit organization, the Fort Smith Board of Directors approved it Tuesday for a federal grant despite concerns that the organization should have applied under a different category.
Next Step Homeless Services applied for a $77,194 Community Block Development Grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to construct a transitional home. Some of the directors discussed at their study session last week that the request would better qualify under a HOME grant because it’s new construction.
Next Step began using CDBG funds for transitional housing in 2005, which the Fort Smith Board of Directors has approved in the past, said Sharon Chapman, president of Next Step’s Board of Directors.
“Next Step has only followed the rules and precedent set by this board and the five-year plan concerning CDBG funding. So why only now raise an objection?” she said.
*This news story was originally posted on swtimes.com
