FORT SMITH, Ark. — By July, Fort Smith’s Hope Campus believes they will be able to open the doors to their new expansion wing. The expansion will increase their bed capacity to 150 with the addition of about 50 more beds.
The new addition will also provide additional showers, a laundry facility, meeting space and lockers for individuals to secure their belongings when spending the night.
“We really need the extra space so everybody can fit comfortably, and everyone will be able to access all of our services,” said Paige Lokey, the Community Development Coordinator for Hope Campus.
Lokey says Hope Campus was awarded a great of approximately $600,000 as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. During the pandemic, Hope Campus couldn’t shelter as many people and a clear need to increase its capacity was addressed.
“With the increase in capacity, that’s going to allow more people to utilize our services,” said Lokey.
For residents, the expansion will also help provide more space between them and non-residents.
“It’s going to be great because as it is now, you have your residents on this side and at night, you bring in the non-residents,” says Tina Chevalon, a resident and volunteer at Hope Campus. “With the expansion, you’re going to have an area just for non-residents.”
But for non-residents of Hope Campus, the expansion means more space and more help to utilize services, such as case management, classes and programs, and working to get back on their feet.
Chevalon says she thinks the expansion will “give them more hope, maybe to become a resident.” She continued, “If you can get them in on a non-residents bed and you can convince them to become a resident, then you got a chance of putting them back in society, you know, where they can survive and maintain.”
For Chevalon, Hope Campus has helped her get back on her feet and believes the expansion can help others in similar situations.
“Hope’s not a hand-out. It’s sort of like a hand-up, you know? To help life you up to the places you need to be,” said Chevalon.
On Saturday, June 25, Hope Campus is hosting a fundraising event called Engineering Hope. The event includes a round-trip ride on the train between Van Buren and Winslow and lunch will be provided. Tickets are $100 each, but you can use the promo code ‘BOGO’ at checkout to purchase two tickets for the price of one. For more information, you can visit their Facebook page or website.
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