LITTLE ROCK, AR – During part of this week’s winter blast, the City of Little Rock kept its homeless shelter closed, forcing many to look for other options.
The Jericho Way Resource Center is run by the city. It’s normally open each weekday from 7:30 a.m. until 3:30 p.m. The day center is a safe haven for the homeless, but during the icy weather on Monday and Tuesday, its doors were locked.
Duane Green is thankful for a warm meal and a safe place to stay on a cold night.
“We have heat, each other to talk to and just take it easy,” she says.
Green often comes to the Compassion Center at night and during the day relies on day centers like Jericho Way.
“The day centers are all the resources we have,” says Green.
The city issued the following statement about this week’s closure:
“The Jericho Way Day Resource Center is part of the City of Little Rock and follows the city’s schedule. On Monday, the center was closed in observance of the Washington birthday holiday. On Tuesday, the city of Little Rock, which includes the center, was closed due to hazardous driving conditions.”
“Oh Lord, that’s really tough on us,” George Carnickle adds. “We’ve had one homeless man found dead in the cold several weeks ago. That’s a crying shame.”
Since the day center closed this week, other centers stepped in. The Compassion Center stayed open, as did the Union Rescue Mission. They even provided lunch for those who depend on the day center. It’s not something you’d typically find at the Union Rescue Mission.
“We’ve got to be able to stretch from one week to the next and by those extra mouths it does put a little strain on us, but the good Lord has provided for us,” says Anthony Rucker, the Union Rescue Mission Director of Homeless Services.
Pitching in to help means using up valuable resources to house the homeless, even when others do not.
“It’s put a real drain on our resources because we run on a limited budget ourselves,” explains Compassion Center Director William Holloway.
But keeping those in need warm, that’s what the centers will always do and those who come to them will always be grateful.
“The good Lord is with us. He’s really doing some wonderful things,” Carnickle says.
The city says Jericho Way opened again Wednesday morning at 7. The other two centers stay open each and every day of the year.
