By: Hannah Moore
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (UATV) — Every third Saturday of the month, Every Soul Matter’s sets up at Walker Park for its mobile mission serving unhoused residents in Washington County. The outreach includes a mobile shower, clothing, meals, haircuts, dog grooming, a walk-in clinic, and optional books and activities.
Every Soul Matter’s was created by Bradley Clyne in 2015 as a disaster-response effort serving states across the country. By 2017, the mission settled in Fayetteville Arkansas, focusing on supporting people living on the streets. In 2018, the organization began hosting monthly outreach events, expanding its services each year to meet the community’s needs.
“These people are overlooked and we couldn’t stand the fact that they are overlooked,” Director Bradley Clyne said. “I still drive past them 28 days of the month, but at least we are out here doing what we can to help.”
Clyne started the organization because of his own personal experience. As a young man, he, his wife, and their children were unhoused several times over the course of a few years.
“We lived in a van, so it’s pretty easy for us to understand what’s going on with these folks,” Clyne said. “It’s pretty easy for anybody to get in that situation. It only takes one medical bill, a missed paycheck, or even losing your insurance.”
On Nov. 15, the mission hosted its 8th Annual Fall Friendsgiving Feast. Impacted individuals accessed the mobile mission while celebrating the start of the holiday season with a home-cooked Thanksgiving meal.
“I got a blanket and breakfast this morning,” an Unhoused Resident James said. “But I am really just staying hydrated and clean, you know, so I don’t get sick or anything like that.”
In Washington Country, food insecurity rates have risen two percent since 2019. Statewide, Arkansas’ poverty rate stands at 16.3 percent, the fourth highest in the country. The uncertainty of food and shelter remains a daily challenge for many community members, including Christopher Wunderlich, who relies on Every Soul Matter’s services.
“I actually live in a hammock, and the city of Fayetteville cut up one of my hammocks that cost me $1,000,” Wunderlich said. “I need to build something for myself instead of building something for somebody else.”
Over a hundred volunteers took part in the Friendsgiving Feast, offering free haircuts, medical care, meals and clothing. One volunteer moved to the United States from Afghanistan after the Taliban seized control. Her father worked with the U.S. government, forcing the family into hiding for three years before an American family in Springdale sponsored their relocation.
“So three years I couldn’t go out or study,” Volunteer Tamkin said. “Finally one night at three a.m. they called us and they were like come on, tomorrow’s your flight.”
Tamkin’s end of her first year in America happened to fall during the week of the Friendsgiving Feast, where she now volunteers every month.
“It feels nice helping people when you know you can do something, and you have experienced how being hopeless feels like,” Tamkin said.
The mission will continue its monthly care-village through the holiday season, with the next gathering set for Dec. 20. at Walker Park. As the number of unhoused residents in Arkansas increases to over 3,000, the nonprofit continues to see growing demand for its monthly outreach events.