HOPE WORKS
City, Jackson House announce partnership
Panhandling has become a common sight at local intersections since a court ruling invalidated the state’s loitering statute, but a public-private partnership announced Wednesday aims to make it a less conspicuous feature of the streetscape.
The Hope Works pilot program the city and Jackson House plan to start next month will combine city beautification, employment assistance and a conduit to social services for
Hot Springs’ homeless and indigent populations. They will be offered minimum wage to remove litter from roadways, creating a transactional relationship the city and Jackson House said has the potential to develop into a more profound connection.
“In the long term we want to be able to connect these individuals with other resources we have in our community,” Hot Springs City Manager Bill Burrough, describing the program as a hand up and not a hand out, said at Wednesday’s news conference. “Through Jackson House, through (Cooperative Christian Ministries and Clinic), through the United Way, we have great partners that have resources that may not be connecting to some of these individuals.
“That’s the impetus of the program. There’s the immediate needs, but more so the long term solutions for breaking that cycle of poverty.”
Burrough said money set aside in next year’s solid waste budget will pay the litter crews, and Jackson House will oversee the program as the city’s third-party provider. According to Jackson House’s mission statement, the nonprofit provides emergency assistance to citizens in the community.
Its partnership with the city will be operated under the nonprofit Hope Works LLC.
“We’re there for when things fall apart to help people get back to their lives,” Jackson House Executive Director Janie Smith, standing in front of a background displaying the nonprofit’s new logo and tag line, said. “If you can stop someone from falling all the way over the cliff, then moving forward is so much easier than trying to climb out of a deep hole.”
Litter crews will focus on the city’s arterial state and federal highways, Burrough said, explaining that the city budgeted $100,000 for the program but doesn’t expect to use the whole amount.
Panhandling became a regular occurrence at city intersections following a federal court ruling that invalidated the state’s loitering statute, prompting the Hot Springs Board of Directors to adopt two ordinances in response. A lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union of Arkansas led to the repeal of a 2016 ordinance prohibiting pedestrians from soliciting money or other items from motorists.
U.S. District Judge Robert T. Dawson ruled in April that the ordinance the board adopted in December 2017 unduly burdened what courts have said is the constitutional right to beg. The ruling enjoined the city from enforcing the ordinance and required it to pay $30,702 in attorney fees to ACLU of Arkansas.
The creator of a Facebook page urging the public to lobby the city for prohibitions on begging in public told the board in October that the
Hope Works program won’t curtail panhandling, explaining that he has seen no inclination to work from panhandlers he has talked to. Many of those interactions have been posted on the Facebook page featuring photos and videos of panhandlers and people confronting panhandlers.