Parishioners minister to homeless in NW Arkansas

Sisters of Mercy, parish support new ministry at 8th Street Motel in Rogers

Published: June 13, 2016

By Alesia Schaefer
Rogers Correspondent

Alesia Schaefer

Sister Anita DeSalvo, RSM, (right) and other Mercy volunteers prepare plates of food May 26 to serve to people who live at 8th Street Motel in Rogers.

Alesia Schaefer

Sister Anita DeSalvo, RSM, (right) and other Mercy volunteers prepare plates of food May 26 to serve to people who live at 8th Street Motel in Rogers.

ROGERS — Homelessness is not just a big city problem. In the state, the crisis persists despite economic gains. Even in the northwest corner of the state where the economy has been stable, homelessness can be found.

But it is a complicated and complex problem that can be a combination of structural problems like losing a job or lack of affordable housing coupled with individual problems such as mental illness, substance abuse or relational issues.

While tackling all of these problems would be overwhelming enough, one ministry, the 8th Street Motel Ministry in Rogers, is seeking to meet the immediate needs of homeless people right where they are.

This program dedicated to serving a hot meal every Thursday night in the parking lot of the motel began in February with the mission of simply helping one person or family, one meal at a time.

“We are serving between 60-90 individuals on any given Thursday evening,” said Sister Lisa Atkins, a Sister of Mercy who helped found the community-wide initiative with Mercy Hospital Northwest Arkansas.

Besides a hot meal, residents of the hotel have an opportunity to meet with social advocates to help them obtain resources, such as transportation, dental or medical services or even a job.

These social advocates provide relational ministry during the evening meals that Sister Lisa emphasizes is crucial.

“This demonstrates to residents that they are not alone and that there are people that care and believe in them,” Sister Lisa said. “With assistance from others, we have been able to move a young couple, a family and one young man out of the hotel into more independent living situations.”

“We were seeing a pattern,” admitted Beverly Engle, who introduced to Sister Lisa the idea of bringing a ministry to the motel last year, “of many of our clients coming from this motel.”

Engle, who co-founded Restoration Village, a nonprofit agency in northwest Arkansas, initially talked to Mercy Hospital and Sister Lisa about administering flu shots to the residents at the hotel.

“We brought the Mercy Mobile Unit and gave free flu shots to the residents staying at the 8th Street Motel,” Sister Lisa said, “but at that time, we at Mercy did not realize that the majority of the residents staying at that motel were homeless.”

Thus began a cooperation through the Mercy Community Health and Benefit Department and 10 area nonprofits to commit to serving one free hot cooked meal a week for six months.

“Essentially, we as a community were giving wings to (Beverly) Engle’s Gospel-led vision to help the residents on a regular and consistent basis,” Sister Atkins said. “We have seen first hand the harsh realities of poverty, hopelessness and devastation that the residents of the motel must bear every day. Our hope and prayer now is to extend this commitment to a full year.”

“Our goal,” added Engle, “is to come here and create relationships and try to find what the resident’s true needs are all the while letting them know we really see them.”

Another benefit from the program has been the partnership of several other community outreach programs and local churches with Mercy Hospital Northwest Arkansas. Restoration Village, the Children’s Advocacy Center and five other churches, including St. Vincent de Paul Church in Rogers, have made a commitment to help feed, show compassion and share some necessities with the residents on Thursday evenings.

Recently an offshoot ministry began at the same hotel with lunch offered every day for children in the area. With the cooperation of the Rogers School District director of child nutrition, Engle and Sister Lisa helped secure a daily food truck to provide free lunch to the children and cost effective meals to the adults during the summer.

A 29-year-old woman named Ashley has been at the hotel since the beginning of the year and recognizes the advantages of the ministry and its positive presence.

“I haven’t had a perfect past and I’ve made mistakes, but I try to come and encourage others to come because it helps,” said Ashley, who has suffered a series of setbacks with the death of both parents and several miscarriages. Ashley said she is seeking help with applications to the federal Housing and Urban Development so she can move out.

Parishioner Elden Blakely, a social advocate who rarely misses a Thursday evening to help, said stories like Ashley’s are not unusual.

“I think about these people every day. It is like being a part of communion, broken and shared to come and just listen and hear their stories every week,” Blakely said.

“One meal, one person, one lifetime at a time, we want to help and be the hands of Jesus,” Sister Lisa said.

For additional information or to donate to the 8th Street Community Ministry, contact Sister Lisa at .