OCC to open drop-in center for homeless youth in area

Ouachita Children’s Center is expanding its efforts to support homeless youth in the community with plans to open a drop-in center for children and families without stable places to live by the end of this year.

OCC, an emergency children’s shelter, will be able to open the day center with $40,000 in funding it was recently awarded from a Housing and Urban Development grant geared toward reducing homelessness. The day center will be a place where youths

younger than 24 years old can come during the day to have access to computers, showers and laundry services, as well as case managers who can help them connect with other resources in Hot Springs they might need.

The center will also work to reunify children with families and to try to find help for entire families without stable homes. While it may not be able to directly assist homeless individuals older than 24 years old, the center will assist in finding other agencies that can provide help.

“Our goal is to get them (homeless children) to come off the streets,” Mark Howard, OCC executive director, said.

“This will be a place where we can start to have a relationship and build relationships to get the kids to come into safe places.

“It is not the solution, but it is a big step towards ending homelessness in Hot Springs,” he added.

As of the end of the spring term this year, Hot Springs’ three public school districts with the highest enrollments counted about 430 students living in various states of homelessness, which could include living in cars or doubling up in apartments or houses with relatives or friends. An annual count of homeless individuals in January tallied 410 youths without places to live.

Howard says OCC is hoping to find a building near the downtown area that could be donated to use as the center so the grant can be used to its full extent to serve those in need rather than at least half or more of the money going toward paying rent.

“The less we spend on rent, the more we can spend on programs,” he said.

Earlier this year, OCC launched a street outreach team to try to locate young people without places to live and build relationships with them to encourage them to seek help. The team distributes survival kits to at-risk children with supplies like toiletries and food. Since January, team members have managed to bring two children off the streets and help them find stable living situations again.

Sue Legal, OCC resource development director, said the idea is to create a nonjudgmental environment where kids can come and not be afraid law enforcement will get involved or that they will get into trouble.

“We know that kids who are on the street, they are using survival sex to gain food and housing,” Legal said. “They get hooked on drugs. They get involved with human trafficking. It is scary that these kids are out there.”