OCC gets new leader
The new director of Ouachita Children’s Center brings more than a decade of experience in youth nonprofit work to the position.
Mark Howard became OCC’s executive director on Friday. While he has been passionate about serving youths for much longer than he has worked professionally in the field, he has worked in nonprofits that specifically serve youths throughout the South since 2005.
Howard said the work he does is part of a larger concept.
“The human condition is always before us,” he said. “It’s our
responsibility to do the best we can to help others.”
Prior to taking his current career path, Howard primarily served youths through a church setting “probably 30, 35 years ago.” He said that he regularly taught in youth groups and helped youths who were in difficult situations because of their home lives.
Howard joked that turning his passion into practice came from a “midlife crisis.” This experience led him to switch from for-profit work to nonprofit work in 2001, and later led him to become director of United Methodist Boys Ranch under Oklahoma United Methodist Circle of Care in 2005.
“I just thought, ‘I would love to do this for a career,’ and finally got up the nerve to do it,” he said.
Howard worked under Oklahoma United Methodist Circle of Care for eight more years, serving as director of residential services and vice president and president of program services. In 2013, he became president and CEO of Presbyterian Home for Children in Talladega, Ala.
Howard said that some of the programs that Presbyterian Home for Children offers are residential care, independent living for young women and services for homeless women and children.
Howard said the needs that OCC addresses are not unlike the needs addressed at organizations he has served in.
“Specifically, the South has some challenges that are separate from the rest of the country,” he said. “There’s a little more homelessness in the South than there is in some of the other states. That leads to lots of problems for young people and adults.”
Howard said he also wants to bring a focus to helping children who have been in abusive situations. As someone trained in trauma informed care, he said he hopes to educate others so that they are able to better address the needs of such children.
“These are not normal behaviors, but they’re patterned responses to the trauma. That’s what it comes down to,” he said. “A lot of people look at it like, ‘This child is acting out.’ I’m like, ‘No, that’s a natural response to the trauma they’ve felt in their lives.’ So helping people overcome that is one of my goals.”
For now, Howard is focused on getting to know the community that he now serves.
“I am grateful for the opportunity to be here at OCC, to be here in Hot Springs, to be in Arkansas,” Howard said. “It’s a beautiful place, a beautiful community. I’m just excited to just be part of it.”