Fort Smith's assistance facilities
Hearing that close to 25 percent of Fort Smith's residents live at or below the poverty level is jarring. What's comforting, however, is knowing there are facilities that provide assistance. No matter your situation, there are many, many local agencies that can help.
The River Valley Regional Food Bank is providing at least 55,000 meals to people in need each month (and even more during the summer). Most of the food bank's food is donated by corporate partners. The food bank is housed next to the Crawford-Sebastian Community Development Council, which offers a multitude of programs to assist residents. Low-income families can find help to purchase or weatherize a home. Children and adults can visit a dental clinic, which reopened recently after being closed since April. Residents can get help when crises or emergencies arise, or get help with utility bills. If you're in need, there's probably a CSCDC program that can provide assistance.
Antioch for Youth and Family feeds as many as 7,000 residents a month, with a focus on children, veterans and the elderly, and continues to make progress on its new food pantry at 1420 N. 32nd St. in Fort Smith. Designs for the facility were unveiled last week, and they look amazing: it will have space for food processing, pickup and delivery, as well as health and wellness counseling. The design allows for Antioch's mobile food pantry to drive through and pick up food for delivery.
The Riverview Hope Campus at South Fourth and E streets is on track to open at the end of September. Renovations began at the facility in October, and there will be space for 75 people initially, with hopes for up to 125. There will be a kitchen and computer room as well as a room for religious services. In addition, a Mercy clinic is on site, and because it opened Aug. 1, patients can be seen now.
The Next Step Day Room provides those in need with shelter, a hot meal, job counseling and other things too numerous to mention. Participants can even take classes on life skills and anger management. The Good Samaritan Clinic provides access to health care regardless of one's ability to pay.
There's much effort going on within the local school districts as well to get hungry students fed. Children up to age 18 could drop by any elementary school within the Fort Smith School District (as well as many others throughout our region) to have breakfast, lunch or both for most of the summer. We learned last week about Spradling Principal Robyn Dawson, who, along with her husband, runs a food truck in order to make sure children get something to eat. A grant from Mercy has helped. And Dawson made sure breakfast and lunch were served at Spradling last week after the district's summer meal program came to an end.
The Community Clearinghouse will continue to provide bags of food for area schoolchildren to take home for the weekend. And the United Way will provide school supplies to children throughout the region thanks to its "Fill the Bus" campaign. (That's just the tip of the iceberg of what the United Way can provide.)
If you're looking for a volunteer or donation opportunity, they are everywhere in our region. And if you're in need, there is help. The agencies in Fort Smith and beyond have made sure of it.