NW annual survey shows increase in homelessness
The number of people without homes in Northwest Arkansas is increasing along with the cost of living, according to an annual survey.
New Beginnings, a transitional housing program in Fayetteville, has six residents ready to rent apartments, said Program Director Solomon Burchfield. However, they struggle to find leases they can afford.
“Six people are in programs that provide rent subsidies and social service support so people can finish their recovery journey, yet they’ve been staying at New Beginnings for months because we cannot find housing units that are affordable enough to work with the programs,” Burchfield said.
New Beginnings has 20 cabins, and Burchfield said they stay full. People come to him every week desperate to move in, but the waiting list keeps growing.
“The main need we have is move-on opportunities,” Burchfield said. “We need landlords that want to work with us. We need new affordable housing that’s dedicated to people recovering from chronic homelessness.”
The number of people without homes has increased in Northwest Arkansas. Volunteers gather every January to conduct a point-in-time count, which tallies the number of people without homes in Northwest Arkansas. Burchfield said the data from this survey helps cities and nonprofits coordinate their efforts to serve unsheltered people.
Volunteers counted 436 people experiencing homelessness this year, and 302 were in Washington County. The total last year was 343, including 198 in Washington County.
Fayetteville Community Resources Director Yolanda Fields said completely ending homelessness is unrealistic, but creating a system to help individuals get back on their feet is not. This concept is called functional zero.
“The idea is that a community has all the services and systems in place so that when somebody does become homeless, there is a path to get them out of that situation quickly,” Fields said.
The city offers its low-income and unsheltered residents programs for housing repairs, transportation coupons and pet food. The federal Community Development Block Grant will give the city $764,542 when the spending plan is approved. This money will go toward getting homes up to building code and paying staff to oversee the Hearth Program. Fields said this program provides case management, food delivery, bikes and special holiday meals.
Tom Fannin, 43, is a resident at New Beginnings applying to the Hearth Program and almost ready to move on. He and his wife, Carol, high school sweethearts, bought a house in Bella Vista in 2002 and had three children while he was in the Army. In 2008, Fannin was on his way home from deployment when his wife had a car accident that left her unable to work. They both started using opiates a few years later.
“I was hurting inside,” he recalled. “I was struggling with myself.”
They lost their home and began renting in Fayetteville in 2014, but Fannin said they were using too many drugs to pay rent and started living in a tent by 2015.
“When you’re out there in a tent, it’s every man for themselves,” Fannin said. “It never used to be that way. The homeless community used to be tight-knit, and we would help each other. But now the methamphetamine is getting really bad out there, and it’s cutthroat.”
Two of Fannin’s children were taken into foster care in 2018. A person they know adopted Fannin’s youngest son, but she has not allowed his parents to contact him. Despite the pain, Fannin said he knew letting his children go was the right thing to do at the time.
“It tears us up each day that we’re not able to talk to him,” Fannin said. “I haven’t hugged him since 2017.”
Fannin said he was diagnosed with testicular cancer the same year and had to have surgery. Doctors also found a hole in his right lung, which he said is not dangerous for now. He has been diagnosed with attention deficit disorder, bipolar disorder, anxiety and depression.
Fannin and his wife moved to New Beginnings in 2021. With a stable and safe place to live, Fannin said he wanted to help others, but realized he needed to help himself first. He completed five months of rehab through a Department of Veterans Affairs hospital in May. He had his teeth removed because they were decaying from the drug use and neglect, and said he is waiting for a set of dentures.
Fannin and his wife are waiting to find out if they qualify for the Hearth Program, then plan to move into an apartment. He said he wants to run for City Council to help solve the affordable housing crisis.
“Pushing people away is not solving the problem,” Fannin said. “Helping them is solving the problem. I don’t think the council realizes the concept because I don’t think any of them have been even remotely homeless. I’ve been homeless for eight years. I have the experience and I have the knowledge. I can make some changes if I have the right people to help me.”