By: Kloey Marlatt
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (UATV) – Residents of Fayetteville may have enjoyed a few sunny days recently, but it seems to be short lived for now as another cold front is set to arrive next week. With those freezing temperatures and dangerous wind chills, homeless shelters face an increased pressure to provide a warm refuge for the unhoused citizens of Northwest Arkansas.
Although winter is a difficult season for most of the city, Fayetteville’s homeless population faces deadly conditions. Frostbite can happen in minutes, and in extreme cases, death can occur overnight.
For NWA’s primary shelter provider, the Salvation Army, cold weather protocol consists of expanding capacity by providing an additional twenty-two sleeping spaces with mats and cots. The shelter makes these overflow adjustments when temperatures are expected to drop below 32° during the night. In the first three weeks of January, they provided just over 2,800 nights of warm, safe lodging for unsheltered individuals in the community.
While helpful, these overflow conditions provide challenges of their own.
“You now have 66 people using the space that you typically use for 46,” said Area Commander, Captain Patrick Connelly. “So that does create some strain on resources, you know, consumable goods, that sort of thing.”
To help ease that burden, organizations throughout Fayetteville have joined together to create C.R.E.W., or Community Response to Extreme Weather. Both 7Hills Homeless Center and Genesis Church open their doors for overnight shelter when temperatures drop under 15°.
This collaboration is key to ensuring that when the Salvation Army reaches capacity, individuals have a safe place to go on brutal winter nights. The teamwork offered by C.R.E.W. opens over 100 more beds to do just that.
“There’s a lot of great collaboration in us working together, picking up the phone, talking with one another about how we can best serve those in need,” said Pastor Jody Ferrell of Genesis Church.
The church does more than partner with C.R.E.W. in the frigid winter months though. Year round, Genesis Church offers meal bags catered to the needs of homeless. On any given week, the church will hand out 120 to 160 bags of food.
This outreach allows Pastor Jody and his volunteers to build a connection and relationship with the people they serve, which he says is key to having trust and security during those freezing nights.
Motivated by his own past, Pastor Jody sees the importance of compassion when working with the unsheltered.
“If any of us were born into the exact same situation as an unsheltered person is, none of us could honestly say we would be in a different position than them,” he said. “So that kind of humility allows us to serve them in a way that’s really helpful without making any judgements or stereotypes about why they are where they are.”
In the same way, Connelly “encourages [his] staff to see the person. Connect with the person.”
The efforts hosted by C.R.E.W. remain critical as winter weather is not yet over in Fayetteville. To continue in this operations, both organizations are in need of volunteers. University students can sign up to serve meals and assist individuals in finding shelter through GivePulse and community members can reach out to the organization directly.
As Captain Patrick puts it, “Volunteer doing good. It connects you with something larger than yourself.”