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As more than six inches of snow blankets Mountain Home following Thursday’s winter storm, residents have expressed growing concern about the lack of a warming shelter in the city.
Mountain Home’s primary homeless shelter, The Reach Center, remains closed this winter as it works to complete mandatory building improvements, including the installation of a fire suppression system that has proven more costly than initially anticipated.
On Thursday, The Reach Center released a Facebook video addressing some of the concerns of local residents, as well as giving an update on some of the issues they’ve run into while trying to get the shelter up to code.
“After opening last year and having great success, we ended up sleeping about a hundred different people over the course of the time,” said Pastor Vince Daniel, director of The Reach Center. “We knew that we had to take some things into precaution and consideration.”
The center’s temporary closure comes exactly one year after The Reach Center celebrated the grand opening of its new location at 2335 E. Arkansas Ave., which was unveiled just as frigid weather hit the region in January 2023. The facility’s opening was marked by an open house attended by community members, partner organizations like Baxter Health, and Mountain Home City Councilwoman Jennifer Baker.
During last year’s opening tour, Pastor Vince Daniel highlighted the center’s capabilities.
“According to the city, we can sleep up to 25,” Daniel said at the time. “Last year, our top number per night was about 23. We have some room to expand. We also have a family room, or a minor’s room if we have any students come. There’s a homeless population in our high school right now.”
The center’s journey began in 2021 following a snowstorm that caught Mountain Home and the Salvation Army off guard. What started as an emergency solution at Real Life Church’s auditorium, with 40 cots and 50 volunteers, evolved into a comprehensive support center for the homeless population.
The new facility, formerly the Fellowship Church of Mountain Home, was secured after Daniel spotted the property while driving.
“I called the former pastor and said, ‘hey what are you doing with the building?’ He said, ‘We’re closed, hopefully we can use it for some sort of ministry.’ I said, what if it’s a community outreach program,’ and he said, ‘that’s the same thing for us.’ It was just a great opportunity,” Daniel recalled.
Now, the center faces new challenges.
“One of the things we needed to add to our building per codes in our community, was a fire suppression system or a sprinkler system,” Daniel explained. “We had one number in mind and ended up being about three times that number. And so we’ve been working towards trying to raise money for the water line, to get to the building for our suppression system.”
While construction continues, the center is also taking the opportunity to expand its facilities.
“We’ve also taken the time to add some new bathrooms in our facility to where we have more shower options, washer and dryer unit that’s going to be in the facility,” Daniel said.
The timing of the closure is particularly concerning given Baxter County’s rising homeless population. According to the Arkansas Department of Education, the county tracked 263 homeless individuals in the fourth quarter of 2023, a significant increase from the 164 people recorded at the end of 2022. The situation is particularly acute in the school system, with Mountain Home Public Schools tracking approximately 90 homeless students across its various campuses in 2022.
When operational, The Reach Center offers comprehensive services beyond just shelter. The facility provides each guest with their own bed, partitioned for privacy, and access to showers and laundry facilities. Director Vanessa Barrow emphasized the center’s holistic approach during last year’s opening: “You can come here and stay for those three months, what can we do to get you out of this situation you’re in,” she said. “How did you end up here? And what do we have to do to get you sustainable housing?”
Despite the current challenges, Daniel emphasized that the center’s mission continues.
“We haven’t closed, we haven’t stopped the mission of giving a hand up and not a handout,” he said. “We still love to see people, reach people and do what we can for people. We’ve just not been able to house people at this time because of the construction things that are happening.”
The center is actively seeking community support to help fund the completion of these mandatory improvements. “I want to say thank you to those in the community that have been supporting the Reach Center and continue to support the Reach Center,” Daniel said. Those interested in contributing can visit reachmh.com and use the “give” tab to make a donation.
Once the improvements are complete, The Reach Center plans to resume its role as the only homeless shelter in Baxter County that accommodates homeless children and full families. “We hope that we’ll be able to see you soon doing what it is that we do in the community with the Reach Center giving a hand up, not just a handout,” Daniel concluded.
